Naruto: The Ninth Tail
by Carved Memory
Summary: Naruto and company finally meet the rest of the Jinchuriki, who have formed a group named 'Sabishii' and they are planning on returning the pain they went through! NaruHina. Alternate Shippuuden story. Chapter 17: Unfamiliarity
1. Memories

Hello everyone!

This is my first fanfic, and I hope you like it!

Much thanks to a friend who would like to stay anonymous who helped edit my story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or any of _ITS_ characters or techniques_ **hint hint, nudge nudge**_

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**Naruto, the Ninth Tail: Chapter 1**

**Memories

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"WOOHOOO!"

A cry of pure joy could be heard throughout Konoha as a spiky hair blond boy used branches in the forest to swing from tree to tree. He grabbed one, and as gravity caught him, the branch would bend until he almost stopped moving. Then the branch would shoot back up, propelling him to new heights.

"YEAH! This is great!" he screamed, his face contorted into a smile of pure joy.

"Hey, Naruto! We don't have all day here! We're on a mission!" cried a pink-haired Kunoichi. She jumped from branch to branch to keep up with him.

"Geez. We haven't even left the Konoha perimeter, and you're goofing off already. Get serious! You can't be like this all the time." a Jounin scolded Naruto. His silver hair pointing up and left, and his forehead protector covered his left eye. A mask covered his lower half of his face. The girl, Sakura, nodded her head.

"But Kakashi-sensei, we have to have fun sometimes! We aren't even near the Country of Waves." Naruto complained. He stopped swinging from the branches, and jumped off the branches like the others.

"Kakashi is right. You never know where enemy ninja are lurking, even though this is just a D-rank mission. Remember when you had to protect Tazuna? It was really an A-rank mission." An old man with a crazy mane of white hair lectured. He had a different forehead protector, with two little spikes and the kanji character _oil_ on it.

"Arigatou, Jiraiya-sama." Kakashi bowed his head and closed his eyes, well at least the one visible, to show respect to the older shinobi.

"You suck erro-sennin!" Naruto shouted in frustration. He pouted and looked the other way.

Unfortunately, it was at that exact moment that a tree trunk was right ahead of him. Without looking in front of him, Naruto had no way to realize he was about to run into the tree. He smashed into the tree, and fell to the ground, totally stunned, with his leg twitching at irregular intervals. The others turn around to see if their team mate was alive or not. They stood around him, not knowing what to-

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed and sat upright.

"BAKA!" Sakura landed a blow on the top of his head, making it swell up. "What was that for? You almost scared me out of my skin!"

"Ouch, ouch, ouch … I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I … uh … was dreaming that I was running into trees, and I couldn't stop myself." However, that wasn't even close to what Naruto had just dreamed. He fidgeted with his hands, and looked really nervous. Kakashi noticed this, but didn't say anything.

Jiraiya pulled his pack into a more comfortable position. "Well, now that's settled, let's get back to going to the Country of Waves."

Naruto perked up and started to grin again. "Yeah! I can't wait to see Tazuna and Inari again!"

That was not what he was really feeling at that moment.

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A short synopsis of what had happened so far:

Sasuke had left Konoha, Akatsuki had taken the spirit of Shuukaku of the Sand from Gaara, and Naruto saved him. Sasori was killed, and Yamato posed as Sasori while they talked with Orochimaru. He was found out, and Naruto became so angry, he released the Kyubi's chakra. No one could suppress him as he was fighting, and he released the Fourth Tail. Yamato stopped Naruto, and Sai went over to Orochimaru's side. This story is plotted right after that part of the story. If you don't want to keep reading, that's fine with me. But, once you catch up, try to remember this story and read it please.

Oh, andI amspeculating that Sasuke and Saidid not return to Konoha with them after that part.

And now, back to the story at hand.

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Kakashi looked around, and pointed towards a small clearing. "That looks like a good place to rest at for the night. Let's get our tents set up.

Everybody got to the clearing, and set up camp. Sakura left to find some kindling, Jiraiya stayed and took a nap, Kakashi leaned on a tree, whittling something, and Naruto went to find some game.

As Naruto was searching around, he found a small river, and caught some fish. Grinning, he started walking back, but he sensed something watching him. He turned around, and saw a tall, white thing in the corner of his eye. As he turned around, it had disappeared. He shrugged, and returned to camp, where Sakura was stoking the fire, and everyone was gathered around the fire.

As they ate, Naruto remembered the last time they had travelled to the Country of Waves. Sasuke was with them, and they had a great time fighting, training, and having fun, as brothers would do.

He put his fish on his lap, and stared at the ground, thinking about how Sasuke had left, and it felt as a part of Naruto's soul had left with Sasuke.

Sakura noticed this, inched over to Naruto's side, and placed her hand on the back of his hand. Naruto looked up, at this rare show of affection from the Kunoichi. "It's going to be alright." She soothed. "We'll find a way to bring Sasuke-kun back." She closed her eyes and smiled at him.

Naruto lightened up. "Thanks, Sakura-chan!" He finished his fish, and went out in the forest to train.

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Naruto had the same dream that night.

He was in that maze-like place that was his body. He heard the sounds of the Kyubi inside him, and walked down that path. As he walked, the doorway of light grew larger and larger. He entered, and as his eyes grew accustomed to the light, he saw the great cage that was the seal on his stomach. As the Kyubi laughed, it sent a chill up Naruto's spine. He could never get used to that.

**_"Listen, boy, and listen well."_** The Kyubi growled. _**"I can smell my brethren near, and they know exactly what I want. I want freedom, and they can grant that. There is nothing that you can do. You're going to die, and there is no way you can stop that. Once you die, I will be free to destroy anything I want."**_

The Kyubi sent out its chakra again, but this time, it was not to help Naruto. It wanted to kill him.

Naruto turned, and ran for his life. He kept running, turning this way and that, trying to lose the Kyubi inside his maze of a body. As he turned a corner and ran down the corridor, there was a dead end.

That wasn't all that was there.

A picture was stuck to the wall, and as Naruto closed up on it, he could see Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, and himself in it. He remembered all the happy times he had with them, and just stood there, looking at the picture for who knows how long.

As he looked at himself once again, his eyes in the picture had changed red. His pupils had become slits, and his teeth grew sharp.

Suddenly, he wasn't looking at a picture of Team 7. He was looking at the grinningKyubi.

_**"I found you."**_ The Kyubi opened its mouth, and a needle of chakra stabbed Naruto through the heart.

Naruto gasped, and found himself sitting up in his bed, sweating profusively. He cradled his head in his hands, and wept.

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After many hours jumping towards the Country of Waves, they finally reached the great Naruto Bridge built more than 2 years ago.

It was a sight to see.

The bridge spanned the whole channel, connecting an offshore island to the mainland. This bridge was created for the people to get better jobs. The Country of Waves' economy was going downhill, and without the bridge, the citizens would probably be all dead by now.

Naruto took a deep breath. "Aaaaaahhhh! It's great to be back again!"

"Don't be too happy." Kakashi warned. "Look near the middle of the bridge."

At the middle of the bridge, people were being thrown into the air for no apparent reason, leaving the vicinity blood-stained. Naruto balled his fists and started running at the source of the commotion. He had totally forgotten about what happened earlier. "Who the hell is doing that? I don't believe this! Those bastards. I'm gonna beat them to a pulp!"

And with that last statement, our four heroes ran towards the fighting, ready to get rid of the enemy.

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**End of Chapter 1**

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Hey, how did it go?

I hoped you all like it! Please read and review!

Any questions will be answered in the next chapter!

Until next time!

PS. A little saying of mine.

_Anything lasts forever unless you don't polish it._

Meaning: Look back at your life, and do the things you used to do, or you may not remember any of it. That would be sad. If they were bad memories, use your present life to make up the happiness you missed.

I might add like a saying or two like this every chapter just for fun!

PPS: I would like at least five reviews before I put up the next chapter. If I don't get that many, the next chapter may not be that good due to lack of encouragement. I'm not making a living off of this, so think of reviews as payment.

Thank You


	2. Introduction

Hey people!

I didn't get the five reviews, but I'm posting the next chapter anyways.

Once again, I thank my anonymous friend who edited this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or any of _ITS _characters or techniques.

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**Naruto, The Ninth Tail: Chapter 2**

**Introduction**

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As they neared the fight, they could see who the troublemakers were. 

One man wielded a tomahawk, and threw it at people. This tomahawk changed form in the middle of the air, becoming a large, armoured falcon with razor blades for feathers and talons. This falcon flapped its wings, and the feathers would be shot from its wings, piercing peoples' flesh, bringing screams of agony fresh from throats.

The person wielding the tomahawk was a five foot eight man with two triangular tattoos on each cheeks, the points pointing at his nose, and curving slightly up as they move to the sides of his face. His eyes were an emerald green, with a fiery light. His canine teeth were longer than most peoples' covering some of his lower teeth as he grinned. He was wearing a chieftain's hat, with a red, yellow, and orange arrow pattern (as in continuous V's along the feathers, not actual archer arrows). He was also wearing Indian dress, all with the same arrow pattern. On the chieftain's hat, the headband had a metal plate with a fist thrust up engraved in the middle of the plate, just like a Ninja's forehead protector.

The other person had a full suit of medieval armour equipped onto his body. The armour had gold lining and very shiny. On the breastplate's left side, there was the fist insignia again lined with gold. There was not one scratch on it, and it seemed not to restrict the man's movements, but rather helped him along. The man had brown hair, tied in a small ponytail in the back. He also had a beard, connecting to his sideburns. His face was expressionless as he use a one handed sword held in his right hand to attack the people. This sword had a very intricate design on the sides. There was a flowing script that talked about how a hero saved many people, but was never happy. He eventually committed suicide, and the people he saved never knew why. The blade itself was very sharp, and you could hear it ring as it swung from side to side. In the knight's other hand was a metal shield, not even dented, but completely crusted with dried blood, aired out as it swung around in the air.

Naruto skidded to a halt, swung an arm over his head, and pointed it straight at the two strange warriors. "Hey, dammit! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

The two people stopped fighting, and turned around to look at the newcomers. The guy with the tomahawk swung it over his shoulder, and stood casually, looking at his nails. "What do you think we're doing? We're killing people."

The knight didn't day anything, and his face still was unreadable, but his eyes told a very different story. Those eyes had seen life born, and taken away. Those eyes had seen love and hate. Those eyes knew things that many would not know in ten lives. Just looking at those eyes gave Naruto a feeling that there was something there that he saw before.

Naruto was too angry to remember where he saw those eyes. "But why? There is no good reason to kill innocent people! What if it was _you_ who was about to be killed?"

The tomahawk man just shrugged his shoulders. "I'll just kill them before they kill me."

At this remark, a vein pulsed in Naruto's temple, and he rushed at the guy, hands forming quick seals, boar, dog, bird monkey, sheep. Jiraiya recognized the pattern, and shouted at Naruto. "Hey! Don't use that technique! Think of how many casualties there will be if you summon Gamabunta! Isn't that what you're trying to prevent?"

As Naruto understood what Jiraiya had just said, he almost touched the ground, which would summon up a frog. It could have been Gamabunta, but it probably wouldn't be, due to Naruto's lack of talent. However, they couldn't risk it. Naruto straightened back up, and balled his fists. "Hey, what're your names anyway?"

The man with the tomahawk grinned. "Why, I'm Yatagawa Kirin, and this is my pal, Houtarou Touda." He said as he jabbed his thumb at himself and the other guy. Touda just nodded, his eyes unwavering.

"Don't you realize you're hurting many people? Think about their families, their friends! Don't you have any compassion?"

At the last statement, Kirin's face hardened. "We didn't have families to grow up with. We never knew this so-called compassion. All I had was this tomahawk my whole life, and that was all that cared for me, helped me to survive. I don't care about anything else, because nothing else cared about me!" at the last statement, he swung the tomahawk once again at the innocent bystanders, cutting and slicing at flesh.

Touda just stood there, staring at Naruto, with his bottomless eyes. Just then, Naruto finally realized what was so familiar about these two people. He knew what they had gone through. He knew the taunts and remarks that they heard.

They were just like him.

He had no time to register anything else. Touda had just instantly vanished and reappeared right behind Naruto,severing his spinal cord. Blood flew out, and Naruto couldn't feel his legs.

Sakura screamed, and the two elders could do nothing but stare. Naruto doubled over, as the world spun and slowed around him. "Sh-it…"

Kirin smirked. "That takes care of one of them. Now, for the others." By this time, there were no bystanders left to attack. He stalked forwards, his metal falcon glaring down at the Konoha ninja. Touda also stalked forwards alongside Kirin.

Sakura was so scared, she couldn't move an inch. _I have to go help Naruto! _she thought, but her body was not responding to the messages her brain was sending. The eyes of Kirin and Touda had no happiness, no mercy, no peace. Those eyes cut into her soul, chilling it, freezing it to the core. Those eyes kept her in place, like the heavy manacles of prison.

Naruto was laying there, blood pooling all around him. His eyes were watching the whole thing, and he couldn't do anything. "No…"

Touda walked right up to Sakura, and looked at her for one second. He brought his sword hand up, let it hang there, and then swung it down. Sakura closed her eyes, waiting for it to fall.

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**End of Chapter 2**

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What a cliffy, isn't it? hehe 

We'll, guess you will have to find out what happens next later on.

Like the new characters? There'll be more to come!

Any questions? feel free to ask!

Please read and review! Honestly, this story looks good with an accumulating amount of hits, but reviews are the core. Please, just put a small encouragement or criticism with just a small bit of your time.

To tell you the truth, I have finished quite a few of the chapters already! If you guys and gals want the chapters quicker, say every monday AND friday, MORE REVIEWS PLEASE!

Until next time!

Phrase:

_Remember to rotate your tires regularly_

Meaning: Remember to practice everything you're good at, or else things will go rusty or wonky.


	3. Fury

Ok, from now on, I'll stop pestering you guys for reviews. I forgot that stories are for the sake of it. I don't need to be paid, but a little encouragement would be nice from readers like you.

Another chapter up and running!

I hope you all like it!

Once again, I thank my editor.

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**Naruto, The Ninth Tail: Chapter 3**

**Fury**

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Sakura never felt the impact.

As she opened one eye, everything was blurry due to the tears that welled up. As they fell out, her eyes widened in shock.

Naruto was standing up, holding the blade in an outstretched hand, head drooped. His spine had healed, and red chakra was billowing out all over his body.

"No one hurts Sakura-chan without losing their lives!" He squeezed the blade, and it broke in half, surprising Touda and Kirin. They both jumped back, watching Naruto carefully, as the chakra faded away. He turned around and knelt down, looking at Sakura. "Sakura-chan, are you all right?"

Sakura was not okay. Her eyes were red, tears streaming down. Her legs were shaking so badly, she couldn't stand up. Her arms were so rigidly placed in her lap, that her flesh was pushed right up to her bones. She could barely speak. "I - I - I'm fine…"

Naruto eyes showed great concern, and after looking at her for a second, he came closer to her face, and licked her tears right off her face. Sakura was so surprised that she had stopped shaking, and her heart fluttered. She looked up at Naruto, and he was smiling warmly.

Naruto then turned around, and addressed Kirin and Touda, red chakra once again enveloping him, red eyes reflecting the hatred that raged within him. "Hey, you're gonna pay for what you did."

Kirin just laughed, and pointed at his forehead with his thumb. "See this insignia? We are Sabishii (meaning: solitary). There is no way that you will be able to beat us." After he said this, he took the two parts of the sword from Touda, and he placed his handsover and underthe crack. As he closed his eyes, his hands glowed red. When he opened his hands, the sword was in its original state, with no sign that it had just been broken.

Kakashi and Jiraiya did not know of this organization. However, they were surprised by the repair of the sword, and so watched them intently.

"We'll see about that!" Naruto rushed at them, throwing kunai and shuriken every which way, and redirecting them all around the two Sabishii using strings. He then pulled at the strings, creating asemi-sphere of whistlingmetal blades, converging on Kirin and Touda.

As this all went on, Kakashi was using his Sharingan to see what the two enemies would do.

Touda smiled, and raised his sword, pointing it straight up. Kirin took his tomahawk and, with a grin, smashed it right into the ground.

No one knew what to expect.

The ground rose and became a barrier, protecting them from all the shuriken coming in from the sides. The rest of the kunai were dispersed by electricity coming from Touda's sword. They were standing calmly, waiting patiently for the next attack.

Kakashi's eyes widened. _They didn't use a single hand seal! What in the world are they?_

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi, surprised by the look on Kakashi's face.

"That was nothing compared to what I can really do!" Naruto came at the wall, and with his fists, he punched down the wall separating him from his opponents. As he was about to punch Kirin, Kirin smirked, and a wall of ice flashed into the space separating the two. Naruto didn't stop. He sent his fist right into the wall of ice five inches thick.

The ice shattered as if it was just a centimetre thick.

At this, Kirin's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he still retaliated. He raised his hand to forehead level, pointing his finger at Naruto. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning shot out of Kirin's finger, burning right through Naruto's head.

Everybody was blinded by the light that came from the lightning. Once their eyes cleared, they saw Naruto with a smoking forehead, frozen in mid-punch. Kirin was pointing his finger, and Touda was just watching the whole thing as if this was an everyday occurrence.

Naruto's mind registered no pain, as his thoughts were only bent on hurting the ones who tried to hurt Sakura. He followed through, and Kirin's face was crushed, as his head was impaled with the driving force of Naruto's punch.

A loud crunching sound was heard.

Kirin flew backwards, destroying the earthen wall he created, and skid fifty yards away. Once he stopped, he slowly got up, spitting blood. Touda looked at Naruto, shocked that the blond kid could still live after an attack like that. As he looked at the wound, he could see it steaming and closing up. However, Naruto's forehead protector was not in such a good shape. It had burnt through in the back, making it too short to wear. The Konoha mark had a hole smack dab in the centre.

"Kirin, it's another one." Touda called, without averting his eyes. Many emotions were going through his eyes. Excitement, shock, awe, wonder, fear.

"Yeah, it seems like it. Very interesting." Kirin raised his head, and the Konoha Ninja had to avert their eyes. Kirin's broken skull pieces had ripped through his skin, distorting his face and their positions. His eyes were pushed nearer his nose, his nose had twisted, and his grin was lopsided. Pieces of white could be seen hereand there, bloodoozing from the edges.Only Naruto had the courage to look around after a while, and see the bones sink back into the skin, and his face returned to its original form. Through the whole thing, he was still grinning.

"Wh… What in the world are you guys?" Naruto was getting scared, and that was something that did not happen every day. Touda jumped beside Kirin.

"It looks like we can't hide it anymore." Kirin said, as he latched his tomahawk to his back, and Touda put his sword into its sheath. They were both grinning. "Let's kick this into high gear!"

They both formed tiger seals, and the world went white.

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**End of Chapter 3**

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I love cliffies. Don't you?

Well, as a reader, I guess not. But anyways, tune in in about a week, maybeless,and the next chapter should be up!

Any questions? They'll be answered in the next chapter.

Until Next time!

Phrase:

_Never stroke a porcupine the wrong way._

Meaning: When you can tell that something will go wrong when you do it your way, don't do it. It won't give you any satisfaction.


	4. Meeting

Hey everyone!

The next chapter, and a larger one at that. I hope you all like it!

Oh, I'll answer an anonymous question from a review.

Q: This story is awesome pleeze updatesoon also can you pleeze make a girl jinchuuriki?

A: You'll see! ;)

Once again, I thank my editor.

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Naruto, The Ninth Tail: Chapter 4**

**Meeting**

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As the light faded away, everybody was in shock.

Kirin was enveloped with five swirling streams of chakra, blue, white, red, brown, yellow. They suddenly spread out, and one end of each colour of chakra collected at the base of his spine, like tails. His clothes and hat were glowing, and his tomahawk had detached from his back. It once again transformed into the falcon. The bird then wrapped its wings around Kirin, and when it opened them up, Kirin had fur-like armour, his old clothes nowhere to be seen. The bird was also nowhere to be seen.

Touda was different. He was engulfed by dark clouds, and the sky was darkening with clouds coming in. Then, you could see blue-white light coming from Touda's cloud, and the clouds above. Then, six bolts of lightning came down and struck Touda's cloud, dissipating it, and revealing Touda. His armour had disappeared, replaced with electric armour, crackling and chittering, just like the Chidori. You could see his skin through a couple of tiny gaps. Instead of five, he had six tails of crackling electricity.

Naruto finally realized what they were, not just what their lives were like. The power of the dreaded, the monstrous Biju. "Th… They're Jinchuriki!"

Sakura looked from Naruto, to Kirin, to Touda, and then to Kakashi and Jiraiya. "Kakashi-sensei… What's going on?"

Even Kakashi was sweating, and shaking. He swallowed. "Th-This isn't good… Th-three of them! A-All in one place! And even two are at full power! There's no way we can win!"

Jiraiya was wide eyed, thinking. _This is something I thought I would never see. I am really lucky to see this… no, very _un-_lucky. I have a really slim chance of surviving alive if they start fighting._ "The five tails, Houkou. It has the ability to control all five main elements. The Jinchuriki has the power to use any technique the five basic element releases: Katon (fire), Fuuton (wind), Suiton (water), Doton (earth), and Raiton (lightning). The Jinchuriki can use the techniques without making a single hand seal for the lower level techniques. S-rank techniques only need three seals for this guy to use them. This is one of the most dangerous Jinchuriki out of the seven."

Jiraiya turned his head towards the lightning-clad knight. "The six tails, Raiju. It has the power to manipulate clouds, lightning, and thunder at will. It has the speed of lightning, and a roar that would break your eardrums if you are too close. Any lightning element attacks can be used by the Jinchuriki without a single seal."

He looked at Kakashi. "This is a fight we cannot win. They're at their maximum potential, and they have completecontrol of the Biju! Naruto can't even control _his_ Biju at four tails. We have to retreat."

Naruto heard all of this, and yelled at Jiraiya. "No, you idiot! If this guy is as fast as lightning," he pointed at Touda, "there is no way we can outrun him! If we _do_ run, he'll cut us up into pieces before we even take one step! How do you know that they're going to actually let us go?" He turned around again to face the Sabishii."We have to fight. There's no other way."

Kirin smirked. "Smart, for a kid like you. Yes, we could kill you all right away if we wanted to, but we like playing with our kill before they die. So think of yourselves as lucky that we're sparing your lives until we're bored."

Sakura stood up. _This is just like with our encounter with Orochimaru. We knew that we couldn't win, but we still fought right away. If these Sabishii really wanted to kill us, wouldn't they have done that already? No, they're after something, like Orochimaru was after Sasuke-kun…_

Her eyes lit up. _Wait… They're Jinchuriki, just like Naruto! Could they actually be after him?_ She looked at Naruto, who was ready to fight anytime, red chakra flaming around him. Her left arm tingled, where that same chakra had entered her system and damaged her. She couldn't even heal that, and she needed Tsunade's help after that mission.

"It looks like there is no other choice." Kakashi pulled out a kunai and revealed his Sharingan. "We'll have to fight for our lives."

"I've never had a fight like this before, but I guess I will have to do my best." Jiraiya brought his hands up, and readied two Rasengans for battle.

"Un." Sakura nodded, and put on her signature gloves.

Naruto's red chakra had become armour, and had grown one tail. "Let's go!" He rushed at the Sabishii, with the others trailing behind.

Kirin grinned, and raised his hand, fingers spread out. The sea water under the bridge rose over the two sides, and converged on the team. Fire came streaking out from his palm, Lightning fell from the clouds, the bridge floor grew earthen spikes, and a strong wind blew pell-mell at the gang.

Naruto used his abnormal chakra to blast away the fire, wind, and lightning. Sakura punched the ground, cracking the moving spikes, and Jiraiya and Kakashi both used **Katon: Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet)** to evaporate the water.

That was just the first round.

Jiraiya had summoned a frog slightly larger than him, and he used a fire technique to light up the oil the frog spat. He also used two **Rasengans** to redirect winds, put out fires, and reflect lightning strikes. The frog was swinging its swords every which way, slicing through walls of water for them to harmlessly pass over or under the duo. _This is crazy! There are so many attacks coming in! There is no way that this guy could do this without the Biju's help. I won't be able to keep this up for very long. _He looked at the frog, which was starting to pant. _Even this frog here is getting tired!_

Kakashi had summoned his dog squadron to help attack. With kunai in their mouths, they ran around Kirin, attacking at random. Kirin, however, was blocking every attack fluently with his armour, as if he knew where everything was coming. He was even closing his eyes, and grinning. Kakashi also joined into the battle, throwing shuriken and stabbing with Kunai. His **Sharingan** was constantly reading attacks. _It's impossible for me to keep up this place for long. The **Sharingan** will sap my energy, and he'll be too fast for me. Even my dog squadron is starting to wear out. _He was right. The dogs _were _starting to slow down, and their attacks weren't as frequent.

Sakura was being attacked by chunks of earth guided by Kirin. She punched and kicked each one coming her way, pulverizing each with one hit. _How is this possible? One person is using so many attacks to fight three people at once! It's not human! Then again, he _does _have the Biju's power to help him. With the amount of stamina he has, I can't beat him, but I'll do my best to give him the fight of his life! _She started punching even faster and harder, not giving up.

"Do you know how I can do all this?" Kirin spoke, as he was blocking attacks. "It is because I am tuned into the five elements. It's not just the manipulation of the elements, but I am part of them, sensing the dogs' paws padding the ground, the wind whistling as kunai fly through the air, the currents in the water as animals swim through them. This is even stronger than the Hyuuga's bloodline limit, the Byakugan, without ablind spot!"

At this, Kirin laughed, as the attacks kept glancing off his armour.

As all this was happing, Touda streaked over towards Naruto, and started using his sword to slash at him. Naruto blocked the lightning-fast strikes with his chakra, and retaliated with a volley of light-quick punches everywhere at Touda's body. None of the punches had any effect, except for the ones aimed at the head. Those, Touda dodged with ease. Naruto kept punching and kicking, but none of them even touched a hair on Touda's head.

_Kuso, Kuso, Kuso! Why can't I hit him? Is it because I'm not fast enough? He _is _as fast as lightning. I'll have to surround him and attack from all sides so he can't move._

Naruto suddenly jumped back, surprising Touda, and he stumbled a bit.** "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Shadow Clone Technique) **Once Touda raised his head, he saw hundreds of Narutos encircling him, all holding kunai.

Touda smiled and raised his sword to his body. "This'll be interesting."

All the Naruto clones ran at Touda, kunai pointed straight at him. Some even jumped onto the others' shoulders and stood there to attack from above. They had created a whole semi-circle around Touda.

He was still smiling.

Just as the Naruto's had collected right where Touda should have been, Touda had jumped up high into the air. He was holding his open palm straight down at the group of Narutos. The Naruto's all looked up, and realized how much trouble they were in.

**"Raiton: Rairyudan no Jutsu!" (Lightning Release: Lightning Dragon Bullet Technique)**

A solid column of electricity flew out of his palm, and changed into a dragon, with open jaws directed straight at the group of Narutos. It struck the whole group, electrifying them all. None of the clones survived, and they all went up in smoke. Touda landed on the bridge, and watched the smoke carefully. It never paid to underestimate the opponent. As the smoke cleared, he saw Naruto's body lying on the ground. He was unconscious, but not unhurt. Touda walked over, and smirked. "We told you that you couldn't beat us. I think we were right about that."

The ground below Touda exploded, revealing a red claw made out of chakra. It grabbed onto his leg, and the real Naruto came out with it.

"Think again!"

Naruto punched Touda's chin, sending him flying up, and crashing back down. Touda got back up, and was quite surprised by Naruto actually thinking of an underground attack like that. The earth even grounded the lightning, protecting Naruto from the electricity.

Touda smiled again. "This is gonna be more interesting than I thought." He made the dragon seal, and collected chakra into his armour. **"Raikou Bunshin no Jutsu!" (Lightning clones technique)**

Down from the clouds came four bolts of lightning. Where they struck the ground, out appeared four clones of Touda. This time, instead of being made out of shadows, these were made out of lightning. An advantage of lightning is that it would shock whatever kills it.

Naruto just created four shadow clones to help him out, and they all had the same armour made out of chakra. However, the Narutos had just sproutedtheir second tails, givingthem an extra boost of energy.

The next round had started.

Kunai were flying, lightning striking, tags exploding, chakra glowing. Seals were made so quick, even the Mangekyou Sharingan would not be able to follow them.

However, the fight was soon lost.

The lightning attacks had made the chakra armour of Naruto's weak, and Touda had used those weak points to cut into Naruto with his sword. Naruto had lost too much blood, and he couldn't keep up with the fight. The lightning clones were all over him, tearing him down as fast as the Kyubi could heal the wounds. However, the Kyubi couldn't regenerat his blood quick enough, and Naruto's attacks became sluggish.

The rest of the Konoha Ninja noticed this, and faltered in their attacks.

Kirin yelled. "An opening!" He made a boar seal, then a bear, then a tiger. **"Katon: Okibi Teikiatsu!" (Fire Release: Blazing Fire Cyclone)** He inhaled, thenblew hard, and a raging cyclone of fire came out, engulfing the three.

Sakura didn't know any water techniques, so she couldn't do anything about the fire spinning around her. However, Kakashi knew a few, and used the one he thought would be most effective. He made some very quick hand seals. "Jiraiya-sama, Sakura, duck!" They both ducked. **"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)** He blew water out of his mouth (how it gets through the mask, I don't know) and turned his body, effectively removing the whorl of fire.

As the steam was blown, away, Naruto was in the air, unconscious, held up by Kirin's left hand. His other hand had something that looked awfully close to the Chidori, but it had flames licking around it also. "Hey, guys. If you don't want your buddy here to have an early funeral, then you better step down."

"That won't be necessary."

The ground under Kirin's arm cracked open, revealing a large blade. It flew up, revealing the rest of the sword, a steel wall with a sharp edge at the top. This totally removed his arm from his body, but he wasn't surprised. He looked annoyed, but also fearful. Naruto fell to the ground, still unconscious.

"Why did you have to do that, Kimiko-sensei?"

From the forest, a dark figure could be seen with a white smile on.

* * *

**End of Chapter 4**

* * *

Hey!

Some of the techniques here I made up. I'll probably post all my own characters and techniques on my profile page.

Any questions? Ideas? Whatever? tell me. I'll try to respond as soon as possible.

Until next time!

Phrase:

_With great power come great responsibility._

Quote by Uncle Ben in Spiderman


	5. Temptation

Hello once again!

It's Good Friday everyone! I don't have school today because I go to a Catholic school. We geta long weekend this week! Today and Monday off! I'll be posting on both days, so don't worry!

Here's the next chapter!

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**Naruto, The Ninth Tail: Chapter 5**

**Temptation**

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"Why did you have to do that, Kimiko-sensei?"

"Why did you have to do that, Kimiko-sensei?"

From the forest, a dark figure could be seen with a devilish smile on.

"Why?" the voice was female. It was soft, yet haunting. Shy, yet commanding. "It's because we need that kid. You know what he is, and _it _would be useless without a host body."

The woman stepped out of the shadows, revealing a well curved body. She had black, long, silky hair that ended at her waist. Her eyes were like Sasuke's, sharp, black, yet had more joy in them. Her lips were very delicate, yet had a toying look. Her skin was smooth, without flaw. Her chest was average sized. She was wearing a black, skin-tight dress that stopped below her knees. The sides of the dress from below the waist down were open, showing a lot of leg. Her black leather gloves were up to her elbows, and her black boots had very high heels. At the neck, there was a triangle of fabric cut of that went right down to the middle of her chest. She wore short, dangling earrings with black gems. Her total appearance was very appealing. She was like a star from a movie.

The elder Shinobis couldn't help but gawk at her beauty. At a glance, they would never have guessed she was the master of Kirin and Touda. Yet they were, at her feet, kneeling on their right knees, right fists pressed against ground, heads bowed. Kirin had finished re-growing his arm.

"You didn't have to come here, Kimiko-sensei." Touda was saying this, looking at her, awe and care in his eyes. "We could have taken care of this."

"I know you can do it, Touda-kun," Kimiko said, holding Touda's chin, tilting his head up. She looked deep into his eyes, affection coursing through the air between them. She glanced at the other Sabishii member. "However, I have doubts about your partner here."

Kirin glanced away, at the ground, ashamed of what he had done.

"Could it be?" Kakashi was looking at the woman, and she turned and looked at Kakashi. "Tanzou Kimiko?"

Kimiko's eyes flashed recognition, and she smiled. "Hatake Kakashi… It's been a long time."

Sakura turned towards her former teacher. "You know that woman, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi kept looking at Kimiko. "When I was still part of the Anbu, I had a mission to kill a Missing-Nin from the Country of Stone. We were accompanied by some Anbu members from the Country of Stone. Tanzou Kimiko was one of them. She was a very good Ninja, and she even beat me in training with my Sharingan on. I don't know where she gets her strength, but she is one hell of a good Ninja."

After Kakashi had said all this, Naruto stirred, groaned, and sat up, rubbing his head. As he opened his eyes, the world was blurry, and a large black lump was at his feet. He rubbed his eyes, and the world gradually focused. He gasped and blushed. There was a beautiful woman at his feet, on her stomach, head in her hands, feet swinging front and back.

"Nee-chan, Is this heaven?"

The woman giggled, and Naruto's heart leaped into his throat. It was a beautiful sound, one Naruto had never heard before. It was affection, care, grace, happiness, all blended together.

"No, you're still on Earth." The woman cleared that up for his befuzzled head. "My name is Tanzou Kimiko. What's yours?"

"Uzumaki Naruto!" He put his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, with a smile on his face.

Kimiko crawled over to Naruto's side. "Naruto? That's a very nice name." She slowly caressed his cheek with the back of her hand, making him blush even harder. He looked every way except where Kimiko was. He saw Kirin and Touda, still kneeling, and rage bubbled up in his chest.

"Bastards!" Naruto brought out two kunai, and held one in each hand. He started to run at the two, but Kimiko was surprisingly strong, and held onto Naruto's collar, stopping him. However, his momentum sent his whole body flying forward. As Kimiko let go of him, he fell back first, getting the wind knocked out of him.

He groaned, and rubbed his head. "Owwwww… Nee-chan, why did you do that?"

She knelt beside him again, and combed his hair with her hand. "It's because they're my subordinates, and you shouldn't hurt them."

He pouted. "Then why were they trying to hurt me and my friends?" He opened his eyes. "Speaking of my friends…" He looked back and forth, but he couldn't see them.

This was because Naruto was under the influence of an illusion. Kimiko was the one who was controlling the illusion, but the other two Sabishii were actually stopping Sakura, Kakashi, and Jiraiya from getting near him. However, Kimiko was really beside Naruto.

"Where are my friends?" Naruto got up, and looked farther.

Kimiko stood up and started caressing his chest from behind, making Naruto, once again, blush. "You don't need them. You can join our group, and you can have whatever you want."

"I don't really want much, Nee-chan… just some friends, lots of ramen, cool techniques, and lots of cool missions!"

"We can give you all of that, and we can give you one more thing." Kimiko leaned over to Naruto's ear, while tilting his chin towards her. She whispered one word.

"Revenge."

At this single word, Naruto's mind went into its own world. That world was one he wanted to abandon a long time ago, but it was still a part of him. He saw his younger self, crying, while all the villagers looked at him with disdain, some with fear. The adults knew that Naruto had the Kyubi sealed within him. Actually, that was not true. They thought that Naruto _was _the Kyubi. As they influenced their children, the kids started to hate Naruto just because their parents told them to. He hated all those people who did that. He hated the fact that the Yondaime Hokage had sealed the Kyubi inside Naruto in the first place. He didn't get a say in any of that. It was that that made his old life miserable.

An ache in his chest developed, and his eyes started to water. A tear slid down his cheek, but he couldn't feel it.

Kimiko started to breathe down his neck. She brushed the tear away with her finger. "Don't you want those people who treated you badly to pay? Don't you want them to suffer like you did?"

Naruto had his eyes downcast. "Ye… yes…"

"Well then, I guess you'll join us then." She dispelled the illusion, and the fake Kirin and Touda melted away. Naruto looked up. He saw Kirin holding a struggling Sakura, and Touda holding up a beaten up Kakashi and a bruised Jiraiya.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, trying to get herself free, but Kirin was too strong.

Kimiko held onto Naruto's chin with one hand, his shoulder with the other, and put her head right beside his. "Little Naruto here has willingly chosen to come with us, whether you like it or not."

Sakura stopped struggling, and looked at Naruto straight in the eyes. "Is… Is this true?"

Naruto looked at the ground, away from Sakura. Tears had begun to well up.

"No! It's not true!" Sakura screamed, flinging tears into the air, renewing the struggle to get out of the grip of Kirin. "Naruto, why? Why did you choose to go to their side? You know we already lost Sasuke-kun… I can't lose you now!" Although her strength was very strong, it did not break Kirin's grip on her.

She was now pleading with him. "Naruto, you know I can't live with two of my team mates gone… Please…"

"Well," Kimiko stood up straight, "now that we have what we wanted, we have nothing more to do." Kirin and Touda released their captors, and jumped over to the sides of Kimiko. Sakura slumped to the ground, utterly defeated. She didn't know what to do, because there would be one more friend that was leaving her side. Kakashi came over, and put his hand on her shoulder. Jiraiya just sat down, thinking.

"It's been nice seeing you again, but I think it's time for us to go." Kimiko pulled Naruto, but he didn't budge. "Naruto, it's time to go."

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**End of Chapter 5**

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OoOoOoOoO!

What's going to happen? Find out next time!

Quote:

_All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honour, duty, mercy, hope._

Sir Winston Churchill


	6. Return

Hello everyone!

Did you all have a good easter holiday? I sure did! Lots of writing, fun, and games!

Sorry for not updating earlier. Totally forgot! hehe...

Here's the next chapter!

Once again, I thank my editor for her outstanding job!

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**Naruto: The Ninth Tail: Chapter 6**

**Return****

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"It's been nice seeing you again, but I think it's time for us to go." Kimiko pulled Naruto, but he didn't budge. "Naruto, it's time to go."

Naruto didn't respond. He turned around, eyes shadowed. He grabbed gently onto Kimiko's hand, and slowly pulled it off his arm. He let it drop, and started walking backwards to his friends. He started to talk, eyes locked onto Kimiko's

"I may have said I wanted revenge, but I never said that I would join your group. Actually, I _did _want revenge, but that was a long time ago. While my life was a miserable wreck, I trained hard to get the people's recognition. As I did this, I entered the Konoha Ninja Academy. There, I met people who actually accepted me as a person, not some kind of a monster. They realized that I had feelings, and they accepted me as a human, not as some bloodthirsty monster." He reached Sakura's side, and put his hand on her shoulder. "That is why I don't want to join you. You treat me like your own, like a monster. What I am doesn't always agree with what I want."

Everyone thought that Kimiko would crack, but she just smiled. "That was a beautiful speech, but that doesn't me we will give up." The Sabishii started to walk away. Kimiko said this over her shoulder. "We'll give you a month to think about our offer. If you decline, the people who treat you like a human may not be spared."

With their last statement, they leapt into the distance. Naruto knelt down, and looked at Sakura. "Sakura-chan, are you okay?"

Sakura turned her head slowly, and looked into his eyes. Then, she flung her arms around him. "Naruto!" She cried, tears trickling down her cheeks.

Naruto gently patted her on the back. "It's ok… I'm here." He did this for a while longer, until she stopped crying. He stood up, and looked at the old Sannin. "Hey, erro-sennin, what do we do now?"

Jiraiya stood up, and stretched. "Well, I guess we'd better do our mission anyways. We can think about those Sabishii once we get back to Konoha."

"Yeah…" Naruto and company re-started walking towards the Country of Waves.

* * *

A young boy was in his home's living room, swinging his feet, eating his lunch. His mother was washing the dishes, and smiling. An old man was sitting on their sofa, reading a newspaper. 

A loud knock on the door was heard, and the young kid got up from the table. "I'll get it!"

He opened the door, and he saw three faces he remembered from more than three years ago.

"Yo, Inari! Long time no see!" Naruto had a big grin on.

Inari's lip was trembling, and his eyes were watery.

"Huh? Inari?" Naruto looked carefully at the young boy's face, looking for bruises or anything that would be hurting him.

"Naruto nii-chan!" Inari flung himself at Naruto, sending them both flying backwards. Naruto landed on his back, and remembered what he had told Inari so many years ago.

_It's OK to cry when you're happy._

Naruto smiled, and patted Inari on the head. "There, there. It's ok."

The old man got out, and looked out the door, smiling. "Hey, it's Naruto. Have you become Hokage yet?"

Naruto grinned at the old man. "No, but it's still great to see you old geezer!"

Sakura said, "Nice to see you, Tazuna-san." She leaned over, and saw the woman at the sink. "Ohio, Tsunami-san!"

The woman looked over and was pleased to see company. "My, my! It's been so long since we saw you last!"

Once Inari got over his crying, everyone got into the house. Sakura took a look around. "Wow, this place has changed so much since we left."

And it had. The floor was tile now, except for the living room, which was still traditional Japanese style. The upper floor walls were all smooth, and Inari's room wasn't as bland. It had many posters showing different fighting styles and techniques. There were scrolls here and there, inscribed with the correct posture and position you have to throw shuriken and kunai. Books were littered everywhere, opened to various Jutsus.

Naruto looked around and laughed. "Ha-ha! This reminds me of my room back in Konoha! It looks like you have been studying."

"It's because I want to be like Naruto nii-chan!" Inari started throwing dull shuriken at the group.

Naruto grinned, and watched the shuriken carefully, and he put his fingers through the holes, stopping them from hitting anyone. "It looks like you'll need a lot more training before you can beat us." Inari looked a bit downcast at that last statement. "Why don't I help you train?"

"Yay!" Inari started jumping up and down.

Naruto patted Inari's head, and lowered his own head to Inari's eye level. "But first, I have to do a little shopping, alright?"

"Un!" Inari nodded his head, smiling.

* * *

Naruto was walking down the street, looking at the different stalls here and there. So far, he couldn't find what he was looking for. He saw food stores, so he bought a snack for himself. He kept looking, but he still couldn't find it. At the end of the lane, he saw a very shabby looking stall, so he went over to take a look. 

An old man was sleeping in a chair. There were quite a few scrolls on the table, mostly small ones. Naruto opened a scroll, and saw quite a few basic techniques on them. _Some of these were in Inari's room. This must have been where he got these. I'll get the ones he doesn't have for his training. _He shook the man awake, and paid him what he owed for those scrolls.

He turned and kept walking down the lane. He still hadn't found what he was looking for. He kept walking, and finally found it.

It was a cloth store. He looked for the black, and bought a strip of it. He smiled, and went to the beach.

Once he got there, he pulled off his pack, and opened it up. He brought out his forehead protector that had been burnt right through because of Kirin's attack. He looked at it sadly for a little while, then went rummaging in his pack once again. He found it. It was the old forehead protector that Iruka had given to him. The cloth was totally gone, all ruined, but the plate was sound. He took the plate, and unscrewed the screws in the corners. He then poked small holes in the cloth, and put the plate over it. He aligned the plate's holes with the cloth's holes, sticking his tongue out a bit. Then, he wound the screws into their holes, and his new headband was done.

He looked at his handiwork for a bit, admiring it. It was a bit scratched here and there, and quite dirty, but a good polishing would do it some good. He rummaged around for cloth and polish in his pack (you never know what you'll need it for), but his hand touched a cold, metallic object. He stopped rummaging, and pulled out the object.

It was the forehead protector of Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto sadly looked at it, thinking how he could have just knocked Sasuke unconscious and brought him back to Konoha. But that wasn't the point. Sasuke had gone willingly, and he didn't want to return.

A needle of pain shot through his chest. He grabbed at his chest, and the pain subsided. He didn't know where it came from, but he attributed it to thinking about Sasuke.

He got up, dusted his pants, and headed back for Inari's home.

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**End of Chapter 6**

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Like it? 

The story is going to calm down a bit, then it'll get exciting in no time! I think I'm going to keep that little pattern, until the end, where it'll skyrocket! Well, at least, I hope you readers will think it skyrockets.

I think this fanfic will be quite long if I can pace my chapters well. I don't really like to chop up battle scenes much, so they might tend to be a bit longer.

Phrase:

_"Good friends are like stars...you don't always see them, but you know they are always there." _

Quote by Joyce


	7. Pain

Heylo once again!

Another chapter up and running!

Again, thanks to myeditor!

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**Naruto: The Ninth Tail Ch. 7**

**Pain

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Naruto was out on the beach with Inari, helping him with different ways to throw shuriken and kunai. Inari was getting the hang of it, and he was able to throw kunai hard enough that they dug holes in trees one inch deep! Naruto threw a couple, and they drilled right through a five inch slab of rock!

"You will be able to do that when you train a lot more." Naruto grinned, and Inari was in awe of his hero. Instantly, he started throwing kunai at the same rock, but they just barely left a scratch.

As the two were training, Sakura was watching them. "Inari _has_ really changed since three years ago."

Tazuna nodded. "He's grown a very strong will to be like his father, to do his best, to protect the villagers from anything."

Kakashi, coughed, and everyone paid full attention to him. "We came here to the Country of Waves because of a mission. We gathered enough information to find out that there will be a band of ninja (from which country, we're not sure) who will try to raid this country. They'll be coming from the bridge, so we'll have to defend that area."

As Naruto was training Inari, he could hear the conversation. Inari was also listening, and he ran over to the others. "Can I help?"

Jiraiya patted him on the head. "Sorry, but this is for official Ninja only. It would be too dangerous for you to join in. You could be killed. Once you get enough training, you will be able to survive out there. You could also come to Konoha to train at the Ninja Academy, and then I might be able to give you some lessons!"

Inari perked up, and nodded. He was more reasonable, where he knew when was a time to back down, unlike Naruto. He'd stick his nose anywhere, and after a good throttling, he would still come out smiling!

"The Ninja will appear the next day at noon, so we should get prepared before that. Set up traps and fix up the bridge."

"Yes, sir!" Naruto and Sakura said in unison.

* * *

They had finished setting up traps, and fixed the bridge. By the time they had finished, it was night. They travelled over to Inari's home, ate dinner, and went to bed. However, Naruto couldn't sleep. 

He was thinking too much to sleep. He got out of bed, and went out for some fresh air with only his shorts and a t-shirt on. The cool, salty ruffled his hair and made his shirt flap. He stood at sea level, letting the tide wash his feet. He stared out at the sea, thinking about what had happened in his life.

He thought about how he had so much pain in his past. He thought about how he created new friends. He thought about how they had gone through the first mission in the Country of Waves. He thought about the Chuunin Exam. He thought about how the Third Hokage had died. He thought about how he had faced Gaara of the Sand in a one on one duel. He thought about how his best friend had betrayed his country. He thought about how Gaara had died, and was returned to life. He thought about how much Sasuke had changed since three years ago.

Most of Naruto's memories were painful ones, yet he still strived to do better. It was that energy, that strength, that power, that kept Naruto going. There was nothing that could get rid of it, and as he looked out at sea, his resolve strengthened. _I'm going to get Sasuke back, no matter what it takes!_

His thoughts were interrupted once again by a needle-like pain in his chest. This time, it was painful enough to get Naruto to fall on his knees. He clutched at his chest, and after a minute of agony, the pain once again subsided.

_It seems like this pain comes every time I think of my past. It only started once we got here. I wonder why this is happening._

He returned to the house, wiped the sand from his feet, and went back to bed.

* * *

The next day, they suited up, grabbed their equipment, and went over to the bridge. There they ate their lunch early, and checked all their traps and equipment. They were ready to fend off the enemy Ninja. 

As they waited, small, fast, black specks could be seen zipping through the trees. They fell out of the trees, and headed across the bridge.

Jiraiya used his spy glass (good item for him, due to his perverted style) to check out the enemies. "Hmm… It looks like they're… from the Hidden Country of Clouds (I think this is where the Raikage is)."

"Who cares? As long as we finish the mission, I'm happy." Naruto brought out a kunai. "Let's get this party started!"

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End of Chapter 7

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Another chapter finished! 

See you all next time!

Phrase:

_"Wars come and go, but my soldiers are forever."_

Quote byTupac


	8. Battle

yo!

Another chapter up and ready!

Once again, thanks to editor!

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**Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 8**

**Battle**

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"Let's get this party started!"

Naruto started running across the bridge. Sakura yelled at him. "Hey! Did you forget we had traps set up!"

Naruto grinned as he kept running. "I didn't forget!" He stepped on a wooden stick in the middle of the bridge. It cracked, triggering traps. From both sides of the bridge, behind Naruto, there were two large cannons rising from underneath the bridge. As they rose, mechanisms lit some matches, which lit the fuses of the cannons. Once the cannons shot their loads, Naruto jumped high into the air. Grapeshot and shuriken flew through the space where Naruto had just been, and continued to rocket towards the Cloud Ninja. They pelted through the crowd, digging into their skin, tearing flesh from their bones. Many slumped to the ground, either dead or unconscious. Naruto added to the death toll by throwing kunai with exploding tags equipped to them.

The Cloud Ninja started throwing kunai and shuriken up at Naruto, who was still hanging in the air. Naruto started to dodge the incoming barrage of metal. A single kunai grazed his finger, and he felt an unexpected jolt of pain course up his arm. _Damn it. These shuriken have been electrified. I'll have to be really careful to dodge all of them. _He renewed his efforts, always watching the kunai. He finally landed back on the bridge. However, he didn't see the fine wire that one of the shuriken was sporting. This single shuriken spun around Naruto, pulling his arms to his sides.

"Damn it!" Naruto struggled to get free, but the wire was too strong. The Cloud Ninja who held onto the string made a single-handed seal, and electricity flew from the string to Naruto, giving him a pretty bad shock. "AAAHHH!" His body slumped to the ground, letting off irregular twitches.

"Geez, Naruto," Kakashi came up and used a kunai to cut the wire. "Caught by some no-name Chuunin already? I'm disappointed."

"Shut up!" Naruto got up and dusted himself off. "I was just getting warmed up."

"Well, you'd better get warmed up soon, because it looks like they are ready anytime!" Sakura got herself in a ready position beside Naruto.

Jiraiya came over, and whacked an enemy Ninja with a **Rasengan**. "There are quite a lot of them here. It looks like your stamina could be useful here, Naruto."

Naruto looked up. There were rows upon rows of enemy Shinobi. He just smiled. "Looks like there's going to be a lot of practice today!"

He closed his eyes. _Hey, damn Fox! Give me your Chakra! _Naruto's seal pulsed and red Chakra started to envelop his body. His wounds started to heal, and strength coursed through his body. The Chakra flowed and rippled over his body.

Instantly, he knew something was wrong.

His arms wouldn't move, and he couldn't even wiggle his pinkie toe. He couldn't even speak. _What the hell? Hey, Kyubi, just what's going on?_

**_Che. You _are _weak, kid. I'm giving you a lot of Chakra, but you can't control it. How pathetic._**

He ignored the comment. The weight in his arms lessened, but the Chakra didn't disperse. _That's more like it. _He brought out a kunai, and held it in his right hand. "Let's go crazy."

With one step, he was already smack dab in the centre of the enemy crowd. His kunai had a wire attached to it, and he started swinging it over his head. As it gained speed, he sent some of the red Chakra towards the kunai. As spun, the chakra became solid and sharp. The kunai was elongated and deadlier than before. "Take this!" He swung the Chakra kunai at arm's length, and the Chakra kunai sliced through their protective gear. Blood spurted in all directions. Naruto kept using his modified weapon to create chaos throughout the enemy ranks.

Kakashi used quite a few Jutsu to defeat his enemies. He performed complex hand seals in seconds, and unleashed catastrophic attacks, sending the Cloud Ninja flying. He didn't use Chidori at all, because it would take time to energize, and then he would be open for attack in those precious seconds. When enemies were too close to use Ninjutsu, he compromised with quick, decisive Taijutsu attacks.

Jiraiya had once again summoned a toad, which held two swords. It spat oil here and there, which Jiraiya lit with his fire techniques. Cloud Ninja were running around and rolling around, their backs on fire. He also charged up **Rasengans **to hit enemies with.

Sakura used a combination of her monstrous strength and kunai to down her enemies. She controlled her chakra well, so she had extra bursts of speed when she needed them. Bones were broken. None of them were hers.

After a while, the fight was over. There were many bodies on the ground, but some of the Cloud Ninja had left and returned to their country. They wouldn't return having been defeated that badly.

Inari ran up, and saw all the blood on the bridge. He stopped, and stared at everything. He remembered how his father was slaughtered in front of his eyes.

Naruto saw Inari, and walked up to him. "This is what Ninja have to do. We have to kill and destroy to complete our mission. We know how your father had died at the hands of Gatoh. Is this what you really want? Do you really want to kill and slaughter?

Inari looked at his feet. "No…"

Sakura came over and place her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. You can help your home in a different way. It doesn't have to be a crazy job where you have to risk your life all the time."

Inari nodded, but he still was a bit upset that he couldn't become a Ninja if he didn't kill.

Kakashi came up, and squatted down in front of Inari. "You can still learn the techniques and attacks of a Ninja. You will just have to use them in a different way."

"Yeah!" Inari finally started to smile again.

* * *

Naruto and company were at the bridge once again the next day. Inari and his family were there to say goodbye. The Konoha Ninja had to return. 

This time, Inari wasn't crying. He was smiling, because he learned so much from Naruto, and he wouldn't forget it. Naruto was smiling also. "See you, Inari."

"You too, Naruto nii-chan."

Naruto and company once again walked across the Great Naruto Bridge, headed for home.

* * *

**End of Chapter 8

* * *

**

Another chapter finished. Hope you liked it!

Until next time!

Phrase:

_"Defeat is always momentary"_


	9. Changes

Hey people.

I'm starting to run out of time. I have pretty much everything planned out, but I just have too many projects, assignments, tests, and whatnot to do much. I'll try to get the chapters up as soon as possible.

Oh, and I won't put up more quotes. I'll just put them up on my profile or maybe not put up any more at all.

**

* * *

**

**Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 9 **

**Changes

* * *

**

Naruto and company had finally returned to Konoha, exhausted. Sakura returned home, Kakashi and Jiraiya went to report to Tsunade, and Naruto went to his favourite Ramen stop, Ichiraku.

He was walking down the street, hands behind his head, legs straight. As he neared the restaurant, there was another figure sitting at the table. He ducked, brushed the banner away from his head, and said, "One BBQ pork Ramen for here please!"

The girl sitting down jumped in surprise, making some noodles fall into her wind pipe. She turned blue, and thumped the front of her black and white hoodie, trying to get the noodles out. Naruto saw the girl in distress, and smacked her on the back. The noodles flew out, and the girl leaned on the table and coughed. Naruto bent down. "Hey, are you all right?"

The girl's long, black hair obscured her face, but as her coughing fit subsided, she brushed it aside and looked at her helper. Her white eyes met blue ones, and she noticed that their faces were inches away. She couldn't help but stare and blush profusely.

"Oh, it's you, Hinata. I didn't know you liked Ichiraku also." Naruto sat down beside her, and grabbed a set of chopsticks.

"N-Naruto-kun… I sometimes c-come here." She stopped eating and pushed her fingers together, still blushing a bit.

"Well, I don't see you very often. What time do you come?" Naruto kept looking at her, but every time she glanced in his direction, she instantly looked away.

"M…midnight."

"What? Why do you come at midnight?"

"It's b-because my f-father doesn't approve of this k-kind of a meal. He thinks i-it is not a kind of f-food that a Hyuuga s-should eat. My f-father is out on a m-mission today, so I can get a bowl b-before he returns and c-checks up on me."

"Wow, Hinata. I didn't know you were so rebellious." He was smiling, closed-eyed. Hinata blushed even more at the compliment.

"Here you go!" The old man gave Naruto his bowl of Ramen. (I've never figured out his name!)

"Yeah! I haven't had Ramen in a long time!" He pulled at his chopsticks, splitting them apart. "Itadakimasu!" He stuck his chopsticks into the ramen, and pulled out a lot of it. He started slurping it in, but he had to stop and spit it out. "Hot, hot, hot, hot!"

Hinata giggled at the foolishness of Naruto. She kept looking at him while he was eating, just admiring him. His eyes, his smile, his hair, his body. Naruto stopped eating, looked at her, and talked with his mouth full. "Hey, Hinata, aren't you gonna eat?"

"Oh, yes." She returned to her bowl, and pulled out some of the ramen. She blew it cooler, and ate. She didn't slurp as loud as Naruto, but enough to show that she enjoyed it. Naruto looked at her once again, and knew that she was enjoying it. Smiling, he returned to his bowl.

**

* * *

Meanwhile…

* * *

**

A raven haired boy had his hands in his khaki pants pockets. He was walking coolly down a dimly lit hallway. His eyes were blood red, with three dots at the edge of the cornea. They were cold, showing his resolve. He would kill to get to what he wanted. As he walked, he heard two voices. He neared the doorway, and kept to the side. He looked in, and saw a long haired man with a white face and purple marks around his eyes going down the sides of his nose. The other was a man with glasses and white hair. Another boy had black hair and an expressionless face. The boy was the only one who had a Konoha forehead protector on. The other two had Sound forehead protectors.

"Sai," The long haired man looked at the boy, smiling. "This list of Anbu members has been checked and found to be real. I thank you for this information. It will help us in our next attack on Konoha."

The boy nodded while the white haired man with glasses turned to the doorway the red-eyed boy was hiding behind. "Sasuke-kun, you don't have to hide from us. We know your style, due to you training under us."

"Us?" The long haired man turned. "Kabuto, you didn't train him at all. Show some respect."

"I'm sorry, Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto, the white haired boy, bowed deeply in respect to his master.

Sasuke stepped out of the shadows. "Tch. When will you train me?"

Orochimaru smiled. "Actually, I think it is about time."

Sasuke glared at his mentor. "Time for what?"

"Time that I take over your body, that is."

Orochimaru suddenly bent down, and something started to bulge out from his back. It ripped through, revealing something monstrous.

* * *

**End of Chapter 9

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**


	10. Revelations

Here's the next chapter!

**Texts:**

Normal Speech and Narrative or thoughts with stress

_Thoughts or stressed words_

**_Demon Speech or Technique/Bloodline Limits when thinking_**

**Techniques or Bloodline Limits or Stressed Demon Speech****

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**Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 10**

**Revelations

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**

This was something that a raven-haired boy only experience twice in his life. It was something that froze his body, his mind, his soul. It was something that shook his whole body, something that removed all rational thought.

Fear.

Sasuke ran throughout the dark and damp complex, trying to find the exit. _Shit!_ Sasuke took a chance and glanced back. What looked like eight giantsnakes were streaking down the hallway behind him.

**

* * *

Beginning of flashback

* * *

**

"Time that I take over your body, that is."

Orochimaru suddenly bent down, and something started to bulge out from his back. It ripped through, revealing something monstrous. There was a giant snake with eight heads and eight tails. On the floor was the shell of Orochimaru. He had revealed his soul, which was mutated into the shape of the Hachibi, the eight tails Hachimata. Because his original body had the Hachibi sealed inside, it moved with Orochimaru as he used his special Kinjutsu to transfer his soul and mind to another body.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Sasuke screamed, and threw all of his weapons at the Hachibi/Orochimaru, but they just flew and glanced off its scales. He turned around, and started running for his life.

**

* * *

End of flashback

* * *

**

Sasuke turned his head back forward, and took the winding staircase ten steps at a time. As he burst out into the light, he kept running, but he took another glance back. The giant eight headed and eight tailed snake broke open the entrance, and revealed its true height.

It was really a monster. It was as big as the Kyubi, maybe even bigger.

"Ku ku ku… There's nowhere you can hide, Sasuke-kun." He lunged with all his heads, jaws wide open.

Sasuke still had his **Sharingan **on, so he could dodge the giant snake heads descending at him. He jumped on top of some, to get into the air and run as fast as he could. He used a lot of chakra to propel him farther from the Biju.

The giant snake looked on as the little figure disappeared into the horizon. "It looks like my little Sasuke-kun has run away." Yet, he was still smiling. He knew exactly where the young one was headed.

* * *

Sakura was strolling down a lane, and saw a familiar boy in a green leotard. 

"Hi, Lee!"

The boy turned around, revealing large round eyes, a mushroom cut, and thick eyebrows. "Oh, hi, Sakura-san! How have you been doing?" Lee was smiling with a little shine on his teeth.

Sakura also saw Hyuuga Neji and Tenten with Lee. They exchanged polite greetings. However, Maito Gai, their former leader,was nowhere to be seen.

Lee's face suddenly darkened. "I heard about what happened at the Country of Waves."

Sakura had a look of surprise. "How did you know about that?"

"All the Chuunin and Jounin were alerted about these Sabishii after Jiraiya-sama and Kakashi-sensei reported to Tsunade-sama."

Sakura looked saddened. "They were trying to take Naruto away."

The others knew how she had lost Sasuke already, and how her heart would break if her other team mate were to be ripped from her grasp. She wouldn't be able to live with the fact that both of them were gone. She would blindly rush out and try to take them back. Those kinds of attempts to get them back would be suicidal.

Lee patted her back. "Don't worry. We'll protect Naruto no matter what! That's because he's a Konoha Ninja!" Lee struck the "nice guy pose", emphasizing his loyalty. Neji and Tenten both nodded.

Sakura smiled. "Arigatou."

"Ohh! What's this? The bonding of youth!" Gai appeared right behind Sakura, scaring her so badly, she lashed out with her left hand. "Uuooooohhhhh!" Her fist contacted with Gai's stomach, sending him flying out of the shop. He crashed into the brick wall, creating a huge crater. His body was smoking, and it slowly peeled off the wall. He was left on the ground, twitching.

The group ran over to their sensei's carcass. Neji had an eyebrow raised. "Maybe we should just leave him here."

However, Sakura was beside the teacher already, using her medical skills to heal him up. "I'm so sorry, Gai-sensei! You surprised me!"

Once she finished healing him up, he jumped onto his feet and smiled. "Don't worry! That's all what youth's about! You must have quick reflexes and strong muscles to survive!"

He struck a pose, and Sakura smiled, yet sweat dropped. She looked at the sun, which was near the west horizon. "Oh, it's getting late. I had better go." She waved goodbye, and headed home. At one intersection, she hesitated to return straight home. Instead, she took a detour.

She stopped at the very first training grounds that they trained with Kakashi. The three wooden posts were still there, nothing changed. Her life, however, had changed drastically. She just looked around, saddened by the fact that one of her team mates had deserted their land, with the possibility of another being taken away.

A rustling of leaves snapped her attention back to the real world. "Who's there?" Her hand was at her kunai holster, ready to pull one out if needed. She glanced left and right to make sure she wouldn't be ambushed.

There was another rustling, and she turned in that direction in time to see a shadowy figure leap into the trees. She threw a kunai into the trees, and heard a dull thud. Suddenly, the figure leaped out of the trees, and behind the centre wooden stump. Sakura cautiously waked up to the stump, and looked around.

Right there, was someone she thought she wouldn't see for years.

* * *

**End of Chapter 10

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	11. Differences

**

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Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 11**

**Differences

* * *

**

Naruto was at his apartment, just reading his scrolls. There wasn't much to do on a dreary, cloudy day. He looked out of his window, and noticed some God's Beams out in the horizon. He smiled at such beauty and grace. He got up, and dressed up for a walk. As he reached for the doorknob, a light tingling at the base of his skull made him froze. Something had changed in Konoha. There was something new that was here. It was part alien, yet part familiar.

He turned to look out the window again, and only one God's Beam remained, shining down on the first training ground that Naruto and his team had gone to. He turned back, and opened the door, locking it as he left.

He set out, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. As he neared the training site, the feeling of familiarity strengthened. He sped up, as he realized who it really was. He reached the site with the three logs. He saw Sakura and a raven-haired boy he recognized. It had been so long since all three of them were at this exact place.

"You came back."

"Hn." Sasuke just looked away, as haughty as ever. However, his three dotted **Sharingan** was active. It seemed as if he was strong enough to keep it on without using too much of his Chakra.

Naruto thought he should have felt really happy that Uchiha Sasuke had returned to Konoha, but his mind wouldn't let him feel that. His mind was going through everything Sasuke had said.

_I am an Avenger. I must gain power. Even if I have to eat the Devil's fruit, I will do it to kill that man._

Naruto plastered on a weak smile, but there was no real happiness in it. "Well, welcome back."

He turned around, and headed back to his apartment. Sakura was so surprised, that she just watched as he walked down a street, his back towards them. Sasuke was also surprised, but he shook it off, and started heading back to his estate. Sakura was left there, still trying to figure out why Naruto had such a small reaction to Sasuke's return.

They used to be as close as brothers.

* * *

Kakashi, Jiraiya and a blond, large breasted woman were in a round room. The woman was sitting down, while the two men were standing up.

"Tsunade, we need to be careful where we send Naruto next." Jiraiya spoke. "These Sabishii are really dangerous! Who knows how many Jinchuriki they have already! The Akatsuki have three we know of, and we definitely know that the Sabishii have two. There are two others, not including Naruto, that are out there somewhere in this world! Naruto is now a target of two groups!"

Kakashi spoke after Jiraiya. "Hokage-sama, Konoha has become a very big target for others. First it's Orochimaru, then it's the Akatsuki, and now it's these Sabishii! If we're not careful, our country may not be able to hold the title of one of the five greatest countries!"

Tsunade had her head in her hands, rubbing her temples. "I know all these facts already! The problem is, how do we protect Naruto and Konoha at the same time with our limited resources?"

Everyone was silent as they milled over that problem. Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, revealing a brown-haired woman with a little pig in her hands. "Tsunade-sama!" She looked around. "Oh, sorry. Did I disrupt your meeting?"

"No, don't worry about that, Shizune." Tsunade waved a hand, to emphasize the casualness. "Anyway, what's the problem?"

"Well," She glanced at Kakashi for a second, and then her eyes flitted back to the fifth Hokage. "Reports say that Uchiha Sasuke has returned to Konoha."

Kakashi's eye widened, his mind racing. "Where was he spotted last?"

"At the Uchiha estate."

Kakashi rushed out of the room, eager to see his teammate he had lost.

Tsunade's eyes darkened. "Jiraiya."

"Yeah." Jiraiya met Tsunade's eyes, their thoughts connecting.

Shizune looked from one face to another, but she didn't know what was going on. "What? What is it?"

Tsunade sighed. "There is only one reason that Sasuke would have left the Country of Sound."

Jiraiya finished the thought. "That reason would be because his reason to live was in danger."

Shizune started to understand. "And that reason is…"

The two Sannin spoke together. "To kill his brother, Uchiha Itachi."

* * *

Sasuke was in his room, resting on his tatami mat. He looked at the ceiling, thinking of what had happened back at the Country of Sound. His master was really a monster, like others he knew. _Damn it. How am I supposed to fight a monster like that? There's no way that I can beat something like that. Even Naruto could beat Gaara. They were both at the same level, while I was reduced to nothing on the sidelines. I could just watch._ He rolled over to his side, and slept.

Kakashi was outside, just looking at the estate, and listening to what Sasuke was doing. As he heard soft snoring, he left, thinking he would see him tomorrow.

* * *

Naruto was in his bed, looking out the window at the cloudless night. His mind drifted over to Sasuke all the time, how he had deserted them, then came back. Naruto knew exactly why Sasuke had returned.

He looked at the ceiling, thinking of all the fun times he had with Sasuke. Now, he was such a different person, it was as if the old Sasuke never existed. The lure of power would always be somewhere, taking Sasuke there. Until he finished his mission, he wouldn't stop or be disturbed by others.

Naruto closed his eyes, wondering what would happen the next day.

**

* * *

End of Chapter 11**


	12. Learning

**Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 12**

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura were all at the bridge over the river, just like the old days. There was, however, one difference. Naruto didn't look at Sasuke at all. He just looked at the ground, a depressed look on his face. Sasuke looked exactly the same as before, with his black shirt emblazoned with the Uchiha fan. Naruto had his black and orange sweater on, his modified Konoha forehead protector on. Sasuke didn't have his, because Naruto still had it in his pack.

Naruto remembered, and took off his pack. He slowly searched for it with his hand, then tossed it over to Sasuke. "Here…"

Sasuke caught it, and looked it over. Images of their fight at the Valley of the End flashed through his mind, ending up at when he had punched Naruto. Naruto had then tried to attack, but only had enough strength to scratch Sasuke's forehead protector.

Sasuke hadn't had this "Hn. Looks like I was wrong. You _did _put a scratch on this."

Naruto didn't respond. He just kept looking away.

Sakura was really worried now. Naruto wasn't acting like himself since Sasuke had arrived back in Konoha.

A small exploding sound later, Hatake Kakashi appeared from inside a cloud of smoke. "Hey, everyone!" Kakashi looked at the Missing-Nin. "Welcome back, Sasuke. Before we can all start a mission, we all have to meet the Hokage for a little meeting."

"Whatever." Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets. Naruto still had that sad look on his face, and Sakura was looking worriedly from one boy to the other. Kakashi looked at all of them with a knowing eye.

The group started walking over to the Hokage Tower.

A/N: Tower? You've gotta be kidding me. It looks more like a pudding than a tower!

Anyways, back to the story.

Tsunade was sitting in her office, her finger tapping a rhythm on her desk. She wondered how Naruto and Sasuke were getting along. Jiraiya was sitting on a chair by the wall of the office. He had his legs crossed, his arms folded, his eyes closed.

The door opened, and Team 7 entered. Tsunade straightened up, and looked Sasuke straight in the eyes. Neither of them flinched at all.

"Uchiha Sasuke. You are a Missing-Nin from Konoha. You left here because of your greed for more power. Why did you return?"

Sasuke stared Tsunade straight in the eyes. "I came back because someone was in my way of completing my job."

Everyone from Team 7 recognized where that came from. They remembered it all too quickly.

_I wouldn't consider it a dream, but a desire. I have to kill a man with my own two hands. Even if I must eat the devil's fruit, I am on a path where I must gain power!_

Tsunade also remembered this from what Kakashi had told her before. Jiraiya stayed in the exact same position, looking really serious.

"Well, that clears up some paperwork." Tsunade tossed a scroll over. "Here's your mission. It's B-rank."

Naruto didn't have that spark in him like he used to. He didn't look over Kakashi's shoulder and say "Ooohhh! What is it? What is it?" He just looked at the scroll from where he was standing. His face was totally unreadable as to what he was feeling at that moment.

Tsunade continued, puzzled by the lack of excitement from Naruto. "Your mission is to track down and retrieve a scroll of A-rank techniques stolen from the Country of Sand. You will meet with the Kazekage for more information."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, and he knew exactly what was going through his mind. Although his face was unreadable, his eyes reflected everything he thought.

_Perfect. Another way to gain more power. If we get the scroll back, I'll sneak a look at it, and learn as many techniques as possible before we have to return it to Gaara._

Naruto looked away again, saddened by how much he understood Sasuke, how he would always want power to defeat Itachi, and there was nothing he could do to change his mind set.

Tsunade dismissed the group, and told them to be ready by tomorrow morning to leave.

Naruto was dreaming in his bed again. Actually, it wasn't really a dream when it was actually happening to him. This time, however, things were different.

Naruto once again followed the path to the Kyubi's cage, but this time, things were different. Naruto stood right in the middle of the room, staring at the great demon, then abruptly sat down. The Kyubi was quite surprised at this action, but he (I'm speculating it's a he) didn't show it.

"Hey, demon fox…" Naruto's voice was loud enough for the Kyubi to hear, yet soft enough to sound as if he just wanted to talk. "Why is it that everyone hates you so much?"

"**_Che. It's probably because of what I did to them 15 years ago. I swung my tails in a frenzy, crushing buildings, upturning crops, and killing many people."_**

"But why did you do that?"

"**_I was actually influenced by my older brothers and sisters. Shuukaku is the oldest, and then there's nee-chan Naoko. They're the eldest two."_**

"The Ichibi and the Nibi?"

"**_Correct. Sanbi Wanizame came next, then Yonbi Katatsu, Gobi Godanju, Rokubi Ikkatsu, Sichibi Furudanuki, Hachibi Aodaishou (hah, what a lie), and me … I can't remember…"_**

The Kyubi's eyes had something strange in them. Naruto squinted to see what they were. Were they tears? They disappeared soon after they came out, so the boy didn't have enough time to clarify what they were.

"So, you're the youngest of all the Biju?"

"_**Yup."**_

"You just followed exactly what everyone else did?"

"_**Yup."**_

"You never questioned why they wanted to destroy everything in their path?"

"**_Well, I can't remember what I did when I was really young." _**Naruto nodded, knowing how he couldn't remember much when he was just a baby. **_"What I do remember is that everyone else started making me go through harsh training. If I lagged behind in my practice, they would whip me with their tails. I grew bigger and stronger, and when I was strong enough, we used to travel the lands, destroying everything."_**

"You mean that you used to be as small as a normal fox?"

"**_Yeah, at least I think…"_**

Naruto listened to some more of the Kyubi's stories of "fun" for a while. Then, the Kyubi paused. **_"After many years, Shuukaku nii-san disappeared, and eventually, everyone else. I was alone to fend for myself as people attacked me. Then came that fateful day fifteen years ago. That blond-haired guy used a weird Jutsu, locking me in this body."_**

Naruto's hand subconsciously slid over his stomach, where that seal was placed. He then got up, and dusted his pants, surprised that none of the water had been soaked up.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow."

"_**Yeah…"**_

Naruto left the room with a little more knowledge of the Biju.

**End of Chapter 12**


	13. Reunion

Hey people.

I haven't been able to update often because of my exams coming up next week. I hope you enjoy this chapter anyways, and stay tuned for the next one!

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**Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 13**

**Reunion

* * *

**

It was morning, and team 7 was at the main gates of Konoha. Kakashi wasn't late this time (for a change). Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shizune were there to see them off.

"Be careful out there, Naruto."

Naruto nodded, but he didn't say anything. Tsunade knew there was something wrong, but she didn't say anything about it. _This isn't like Naruto. What happened? _Tsunade looked at Kakashi, and their eyes met. A silent thought passed between them, and they both nodded.

"Keep those tails in check, Naruto." Jiraiya told the blond boy.

Naruto once again just nodded. There was that sad expression on his face, just like the one yesterday. He turned around, and started walking down the road, to Sunagakure.

The rest of team 7 walked after him. Tsunade looked at Naruto's back. "I'm worried about that kid. There's something wrong."

Jiraiya grunted. "Who cares? I'm glad I got rid of that brat."

A punch in the stomach stopped him from saying any thing else. He was lucky to have received just that. If he had said any more, an uppercut would have sent him flying all the way to the other side of the village.

He was still, however, on the ground, doubled in pain.

* * *

A young man with red hair was looking out of a window. His arms were crossed over his chest, and a large gourd was strapped onto his back. His eyes were blue, and his skin was pale.

A woman with blond hair, tied into four short ponytails, came in, a huge fan in her left hand. "Gaara, they're here."

"Ah…" Gaara turned around, and walked over to the woman.

"Kankuro!" The woman yelled, and a guy with black clothing and purple face paint appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

"What is it, Temari?"

"Our guests have arrived."

"Oh! It's been a while since we saw them last! I'll come with you."

Gaara, Kankuro and Temari walked out of the office, and headed for the main gates. Once they reached it, they saw Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi.

Naruto ran straight over to Gaara with a wide grin on. "Hey, Gaara! Long time no see!"

Gaara's face was still expressionless as usual, but he stuck his hand out.

Naruto looked at Gaara's hand, and his smile became gentler. Even the most common gestures have a rare emotion behind it. He grasped it, saying. "Just like last time."

"Ah…"

Naruto looked over Gaara's shoulder, spotting his siblings. "Yo, Temari, Kankuro!"

Kankuro raised a hand. "Hey, Naruto." Temari smiled.

Gaara let go of Naruto's hand, and surveyed the rest of Team 7. He exchanged polite nods with Sakura and Kakashi, but once he came to Sasuke, the raven-haired boy flinched. Gaara stared intently into Sasuke's eyes.

"It looks like you still have those eyes." Sasuke didn't say anything. He just glared at him.

"Well, now that the pleasantries are over, let's get down to the nitty-gritty." Kakashi said.

"Yes. Let's." Temari started to walk back to the Kazekage tower, and the rest of the group followed.

* * *

Naruto-kun…

Her thoughts were on her only love at that moment. Her heart beat faster just by thinking of him, a mental picture forming in her head. Her grip on her pants tightened. Her breathing grew slightly heavier.

Naruto-kun…

She looked up at the blue sky, clouds floating here and there. She sighed. What she would give for just one full day alone with Naruto. She wondered if he even realized that she liked him. She wondered if he felt the same way. She wondered how he would act if she told her how she felt. Then again, she couldn't do it, for some reason. She had always blabbed out something else.

Naruto-kun…

She thought about his physique. His mouth, those white teeth and fine lips. His blond hair, a small mane covering his head. His skin was smooth and clean. His sapphire blue eyes. How they shined and twinkled when he laughed or smiled. His body, how strong it was…

Naruto-kun…

Oh what joy she would feel if he just hugged her, or said that she loved her. She doubted it would ever actually happen though. Oh, how she fantasized about what they could to together. She could just imagine them sitting on a bench, tongues intertwining in a fiery frenzy, her screams of ecstasy as he delved into her heated depths…

Naruto-kun…

* * *

"So, what exactly happened?" Sakura had to ask. Sunagakure's defences were not to be taken lightly. However, there was the recent extraction of Shukaku from Gaara, so their defences would have been weakened by that.

"Two shinobi that had left their villages had come here and stolen one of our technique scrolls." Kankuro pulled out a map of Sunagakure and its surroundings, and then pointed to the west gate. "The two entered from around here, and then entered this building, the Kazekage Tower. They snuck around, totally decimating our guards, patrols, backup, security, you name it." As he was saying all this, his finger moved along the map, showing what path the enemies took. "It seemed as if they had come here before. Then, they took one of our Jutsu scrolls and headed back right away."

"Were there any markings or symbols that these two had?" Kakashi had a hand holding his chin, thinking.

"Yeah, there were." Temari looked the Jounin straight in the eye. "They wore cloaks with red clouds."

"Akatsuki." Team 7 said in unison. Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura looked at Sasuke, who had a strange look on his face. It was a look that was half joyful, half fearful. Was he ready to face his brother this time? Had the difference of power changed at all? Could it be possible that there was no change? He would probably find out soon enough.

"Well, since it's them, we'll have to be ready for any kind of attack. We don't know who they sent."

There was a moment's silence, and then Kankuro stood up. "Well, let's start packing for the chase."

"Yeah…" Naruto got up, and walked out.

Gaara looked at Naruto as he left, and then asked Sakura, "What happened?"

Sakura knew what he meant. "Well, he was pretty happy before, but once Sasuke came back, he's been in this kind of sulk the whole time. I don't know what's going through his mind."

Gaara turned his head to Sasuke, and, once again, he flinched. _Interesting._ Gaara thought. _He never flinched back at the Chuunin Exam. Something must have happened that gave him quite a shock._

"Well, we'd better get a good night's rest. We'll need the energy." Kakashi walked out of the room. After a moment, Sasuke followed, then Sakura, then Kankuro, then Temari. Gaara started to walk out, but stopped at the door. He looked back at the map, and a little bit of sand floated through the air, rolled up the map, and dropped it onto a shelf. Then, Gaara finally left the room.

* * *

"Why did we get this stupid scroll anyways, Deidara-san? All these Jutsus are so weak!" A guy with black spiky hair and a white and black mask looked at the contents of the scroll, then turned his head to the guy beside him. The guy had blond hair and a crafty smile on.

"It's really just for bait, yeah." Deidara had some clay in his hands, and rolled it into a ball. As he kept rolling it, it seemed to be getting smaller and smaller, until his hands met. As he spread them apart, mouths could be seen on his palms. "We're just trying to reel in some fish, yeah. Don't worry, Tobi. They should be here soon, yeah."

"Awww? So boring…" Tobi leaned his head back, and stared at the sky. There wasn't much to do. "I bet Zetsu-san is having fun busting heads somewhere…"

"Well, you need experience for things like that, yeah." Deidara lectured, and out of the mouths on his hands were two clay birds. "Beautiful, yeah?"

Tobi took one look at the birds, then turned his head the other way. "Bah… so ugly."

A vein pulsed in Deidara's forehead, and, quick as a flash, Tobi was in a headlock, face in the dirt. "What did you say, boy?"

"Mmmmffff!" The muffled reply came from Tobi, arms and legs flailing wildly.

Deidara brought his captive's face off the ground. "Say uncle!"

"Damn you, Deidara! Anyways, those birds are the colour of shi - GAAAAKKKK!" His little rant was cut short as Deidara tightened his grip on Tobi's throat. He had to choke out the next three words. "Uncle, uncle, uncle!"

"Yeah, that's right." Deidara grinned, but something distracted him. He didn't relinquish his grip, so Tobi was left still struggling in his headlock.

"Yo, Tobi…"

"Hn?" Tobi stopped moving.

"Looks like today's not gonna be boring anymore, yeah."

* * *

**End of Chapter 13**

* * *


	14. Vows

**Naruto: The Ninth Tail Chapter 14**

**Vows**

"Where could they be?" Sakura looked left and right for any trace of the Akatsuki, but she couldn't find one.

Sasuke crouched low, and put his ear to the ground, closing his eyes. After a moment, he stood back up. "They went that way." He pointed north.

They headed over that way, and before they knew it, they were in a cluster of traps. Once they noticed, it was kind of too late. They sprung quite a few traps, and that would have been the end of any average Shinobi. However, they weren't just any old average Shinobi. Three were taught by the Copy Ninja, who was also there in person, each of those taught by one of the legendary Sannin. Two people were Jinchuriki, and the last two were at least above Chuunin level. Nevertheless, it was easy for them to dodge everything that came at them without breaking into sweat.

"Looks like we're going the right way." Kakashi looked around carefully, not wanting to set off any more traps.

Naruto had his eyes closed, and then opened them, turning his head to look at Sasuke. "No, it's wrong."

Sasuke gave Naruto a puzzled look. "Why is that?"

Naruto looked up at a tree. "It's because that's who we followed."

"Kyaa!" A girl's scream came from the same tree Naruto was looking at, and out dropped one of Naruto's shadow clones holding a startled Hinata.

"Hinata! What are you doing here?" Sakura looked surprised.

"W-well, Hokage-sama gave Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, and me a mission to watch over you." Naruto's clone let her down, and then disappeared.

"Why did she ask you?" Naruto asked.

Hinata started pushing her fingers together, getting nervous. "I don't know… She just asked us to and we couldn't say no..."

By this time, Kiba and Shino had dropped out of the trees.

"Well now that we know you guys are here, why don't you help us track down those Akatsuki, Kiba?"

"Sure thing. Akamaru?" Kiba looked over to his partner, and saddled him. Akamaru sniffed the air a bit, then bounded west. The rest of the group followed after him.

"Looks like today's not gonna be boring anymore, yeah."

Deidara let go of Tobi's head, and they both hid in the trees. As they watched, seven people jumped out of the trees and landed at the spot where the two were a few seconds ago.

"It looks like they were really here." Kakashi knelt down and looked at the grass. "Somebody was sitting here."

The rest of the group tensed themselves, ready for a surprise attack. They weren't disappointed. Shuriken and explosive birds rained down on them from all directions. Yet, they didn't worry. Gaara blocked everything with his sand, but it took him more effort than before. Once the bombardment was over, Gaara looked directly at Deidara. "Hey, get down from there before I have to force you to."

"

"Well, look who's back." Kakashi looked up as the two dropped from the trees. "Deidara, if I'm not mistaken." He looked at the other guy. "You must be new."

"The name's Tobi." He pulled a sword from inside of his cloak, shifting to a fighting position.

Naruto couldn't help it. He had to ask. "What's with the mask? It's covering up your left eye."

Tobi slowly turned his head towards the blond boy, then lifted a hand to his mask. "There was an accident. My face was crushed under a boulder, and it can't be completely fixed. It hurts when the wind blows at it. Plus," His hand gripped the mask a bit tighter. "My left eye seems to have been removed somehow. I don't remember, but if I find who it was, they will pay."

He lowered his hand and returned it to the grip of the sword. "Now…" He turned his head to Kakashi. "What's with _your _left eye?"

Kakashi looked straight into Tobi's right eye. "A comrade - no, friend - gave me his eye as a parting gift. I can't use it all the time, so that's why I cover it."

Tobi straightened up a bit. "You mean, there's something special about your eye?"

Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector, revealing his three dotted Sharingan. Tobi dropped his sword, hands trembling. "Th… That eye…"

Suddenly, Tobi threw his hand to his head, screaming. He fell to the ground on his knees. He curled into a ball moaning, and Deidara crouched over him. "Hey, Tobi, what's going on?"

After a few moments, Tobi slowly got up, and dusted himself. "It's been a long time, Kakashi." He brought his left hand to his mask. "A very, very, long time…"

"What are you… Obito?" Kakashi looked carefully as Tobi slowly pulled the mask off. Kakashi was taken completely off guard at his old friend's face. His right side was perfectly fine, except for his eye, which had a cloth wrapped over it, his forehead also covered with the cloth. Kakashi remembered that face well, a tear falling from his left eye. The other half, however, was completely unrecognizable. It was all scars, with barely a single spot of skin unmarred, except for his eye, the Sharingan eye.

"So, you actually survived. But," Kakashi asked. "Why can I use the Mangekyou Sharingan?" He tapped his left eye, and activated it.

Obito responded casually. "It's because there are several types of Mangekyou Sharingan. Uchiha Itachi-san's Mangekyou Sharingan is the basic version, where you actually kill your best friend. Yours, however, is the _belief _that your best friend has died. Once you gain one type, however, there is never going to be a change. Yours is slightly weaker than Itachi's, but it's still a very formidable weapon."

"You mean," Sasuke asked, "that you don't have to actually kill your best friend?"

Obito looked at Sasuke. "The last Uchiha… Of course you would want to gain more power, because Itachi-san killed off your whole clan. Well, except for me. It's true that you don't have to _kill _your best friends, but you can't just get it by thinking, 'I killed my best friend.' It's not that simple. There are so many styles that I can't describe. You'll have to find out yourself, little one."

Obito looked at Deidara. "Deidara-san, let's go."

"What?"

"I have no intention of fighting my former comrade or one of my own clan. I don't even want to risk fighting one of the Jinchuriki, and a former."

"Che. You _are _weak."

"Well, I'll need more experience before I even _think_ about fighting a group like this."

Obito turned his gaze back to Kakashi. There was sorrow in his eyes, but a feeling of determination enveloped it soon after. "I'll leave the scroll here. I'm going back."

Obito turned and was about to leave, but a small voice stopped him. "Ano…"

Obito turned around, and noticed for the first time the girl with white eyes. Hinata shuffled her feet a little bit, eyes averted from his gaze. Then, she piped up. "If Obito-san is the comrade of Kakashi-san, why don't you return with us to Konoha?"

Obito started to walk over to the girl. Kakashi was about to move, but decided to give his friend the benefit of the doubt. Once Obito reached he knelt down in front of her. As he raised his hand, Hinata flinched and closed her eyes. Obito's hand finally rested on Hinata's head. She slowly opened her eyes, and found Obito smiling gently at her. "It's because I owe someone my life. He saved me, and I have to repay him some how. This is the only way I can think of. Maybe someday I can return to Konoha… maybe _he _can too." Hinata could barely hear his last sentence, because he was so quiet.

Obito put his mask back on. "Well, I hope to see you another day, Kakashi. It's been nice meeting you."

"Yeah, likewise." Kakashi raised a hand in farewell. Obito raised his, then jumped off to what was probably the Akatsuki's base of operations.

"Well, I'm not leaving anytime soon, yeah." Deidara opened his back, setting some clay dolls on the ground. The others prepared themselves for something explosive. Deidara made a few seals, then stopped, placing a hand on one of the dolls. "**Kurekouken no Jutsu." (Clay guardian technique)**

At first, it seemed as if nothing happened, but suddenly, the dolls started to grow in size. As they grew, they slowly took on a more realistic form. The dolls took on the shape of samurai, with helmets, chest plates, swords, the whole shebang. They continuously grew until they were the size of the surrounding trees. Then, they marched into a circular formation, completely boxing them in, except from the sky.

"Let's see you people get out of this one, yeah."


	15. Usefulness

Hey, everybody.

It's been a while, I know. I haven't had the time to update. I was on a trip the whole summer, and school's pretty hectic. I'll try to post as soon as possible.

Now, on with the show.

* * *

**Naruto: The Ninth Tail: Chapter 15**

Four people - Kirin, Touda, Kimiko, and an unknown person to be revealed later - were in a circle completely inscribed with a spell. They were rapidly forming hand seals one after the other. Slowly, the words started to slide together into the centre of the circle. As the words got closer and closer, it started to slow down. They all formed one seal and held it. The spell moved a bit faster, and as all of it finally reached the centre, a slight popping sound echoed through the room.

"It's done." Kimiko lifted herself from the ground and picked up the black ball - that was the spell - in the centre of the circle. She looked at the man.

"You know what to do." he said.

She nodded once, and silently left the room with Kirin and Touda.

**Meanwhile**

"Damn." Deidara was wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, breathing heavily. Naruto and company weren't faring any better. However, it was still seven against one. "I guess I'll let you guys live for today." The giant clay statues cracked and crumbled to dust. Deidara pulled out a scroll from his black-with-red-clouds cloak and tossed it at Naruto. The boy started to panic, then ducked and covered his head with his hands. The scroll landed on his back and rolled off. A moment of silence.

"Are?" Naruto looked up, then at the scroll.

"It's the scroll from the Sand. That's what you guys came here for, right?" Deidara started to walk off, but Sasuke stood up and charged.

"Wait!" Sasuke was about to grab Deidara, but a swift turn kick sent him flying into a tree.

"Che. In the state that you're in, you won't even be able to lay a finger on me. I'm done here." Deidara spat, and jumped into the foliage. Naruto got up, scroll in one hand, the other scratching his head. He jumped over to where his fallen comrade was.

"Hey, you all right?"

Sasuke wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth. "Dumbass. Does it look like I'm all right?"

Naruto jumped back. "He's fine. At least we got what we need." Naruto was opening the scroll, when Kakashi suddenly yelled.

"No! Don't!"

Too late. Naruto had opened the scroll up. Everybody instantly hid.

…

Nothing happened. Everybody looked at where Naruto was standing. The first few words on the scroll were "Property of the Country of Sand." Kakashi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Geez, Naruto! Couldn't you at least have checked for booby-traps before you opened it?"

"Booby-traps?"

Naruto looked at the scroll, flipped it around, squinted, and flipped it again. He gave a mock salute, with a wide grin.

"No booby traps found, sir!"

"Geez."

That was all the Jounin said. It was already dark, so they found a good campsite and set up for the night.

Hinata couldn't sleep. She felt that someone or something was pulling at her, urging her to go somewhere. She got out of her sleeping bag, and put on her sweater. As she walked out of the tent, the pale light of the full moon lit her face up. She walked over to a large tree with a small river winding around it. The moon was still facing her, and she could see it perfectly. She just kept looking at it, marvelling at how the sound of running water and the rustling of leaves complimented the atmosphere. She was so engrossed in the moment that she didn't notice that she had company.

"Oh, hey Hinata."

She must have at least jumped ten feet in the air. Once she found out who it was, she got even more nervous.

"Ah, Naruto-kun!"

"Hey,"

He was just sitting on a branch, leaning on the tree, waving at her, with a big grin.

"Want to join me?"

"I-is it okay?"

"Is there any reason not to?"

And so, with that invitation, she jumped up on to the branch beside his, but she lost her footing.

"Ah!"

Naruto instinctively grabbed her hand before she fell to the ground.

"Geez, Hinata. What were you thinking?"

She got back onto the branch, making sure she didn't fall this time.

"G-gomenasai…"

"It's okay. As long as you didn't get hurt."

Hinata went bright red, and looked down, squeezing her sweater. They sat in silence for a while. Then Naruto broke it.

"It's really nice tonight."

"Yes, it is."

"Just like the night when the demon fox came to Konoha…"

"Eh?"

Hinata turned her head, looking at Naruto. He had a solemn face on, just looking at the moon with glazed eyes.

"Nights like this make me wonder if I'm actually helping the world."

"What do you mean?"

"It seems like I can't do the most important stuff right anymore. Me having to be given that scroll by that guy, not being able to bring back Sasuke way back when…" He sighed. "Maybe it would be better if I just died. The people in Konoha would like that."

"That's not true!"

"Eh?" This time, it was Naruto's turn to look at her.

"You're a great person, Naruto-kun! People will miss you, believe it or not. I would miss you too."

Seeing the expression change on his face was too much. She turned her head the other way, and went red.

"It's true, because I…I…"

She played around with her fingers a bit, then squeezed her eyes shut, crying out.

"It's because I like you, Naruto-kun!"

A moment of silence. There was no response. Hinata opened one eye and peeked over to where Naruto was.

He wasn't there anymore.

* * *

Sasuke was restless. He couldn't sleep at all.

_Damn._

He turned over.

_Damn._

He got up.

_Damn._

He walked out of the tent. Right beside the put-out campfire was the scroll, carelessly left out. Sasuke looked at it for a moment, went over, checked for booby traps, and snuck away with it. Once he though it was far enough, he stopped. He looked at the scroll.

_Might as well. Anything can help._

He opened the scroll up. What was inside was not something he was expecting. The interior was completely different from what Naruto had shown, yet it was strangely familiar. Then it hit him.

"Oh, shit."

Busted.

* * *

**End of Chapter 15**


	16. Reflection

Here's the next chapter!

Hope you like it.

**

* * *

**

Naruto: The Ninth Tail: Chapter 16

**Reflection****

* * *

**

_Bang!_

Sasuke backed away from the cloud of smoke, and waited.

_Tch. A summoning scroll. But who?_

He saw a shadow in the cloud, and it finally cleared enough to reveal…

"Geez, man. You _are _really predictable."

Naruto wiped off the dust from his sweater. Sasuke stared.

"_You???_"

The blond folded his arms over his chest.

"Hey, I've been training. I'm not a complete idiot, you know."

"Well, that's news to me."

A vein pulsed.

"Anyways, you should give up on finding the real scroll."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"It's 'cause you won't find it."

"Heh. There's no way you, of all people, could hide something like that from me."

"All right then. Let's make a bet." Naruto pointed to the east. "You have until sunrise to try and find it. If you find it, I'll give you all of the money here in my wallet." He took out his frog wallet, and it was completely filled. It looked like the money would bust out of the seams.

_That's a lot of money, _Thought Sasuke. _He must be pretty confident._

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you owe me 1,000,000 yen."

"You're on."

Sasuke jumped back to the camp, Naruto hot on his heels. _This should be real easy. _Sasuke thought.

It wasn't.

Sasuke sat down on a rock. _Damn it! Why can't I find that stupid scroll? The dobe hid it, so it should be a piece of cake._ He looked up at the blond, to find him smiling widely. He looked to the east to find that the horizon was lighting up.

"Tch."

"Hehehe."

Sasuke got up, and started to walk off, but Naruto mumbled something that he couldn't quite make out, but still made him stop dead.

"Kazoku…"

"What?"

"Are you sure it's all right that you still take revenge on your brother?"

"You are really an idiot. He destroyed everything that was important to me!"

"What about us? Aren't we important?"

"You're a hindrance."

"You wanna bet?"

"You're on!"

Sasuke pulled out a kunai, and activated his Sharingan. Naruto also pulled out a kunai, and activated the Kyubi's chakra. Sasuke took an involuntary step back. Naruto noticed the slight movement, but didn't say anything.

"Let's get this going!" And they started fighting.

Instantly, Sasuke pulled off a Gokakyu to widen the space between the two. After Naruto had jumped away from the fireball, he found that Sasuke had disappeared.

"That's not gonna help! Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Naruto and clones quickly spread out, and searched for Sasuke. The Uchiha hid well, and watched as the Narutos spread out and disappeared from sight. After a moment, he sighed and relaxed. Suddenly, he felt something cold and flat touch his throat, and then dragged across.

"You died."

Sasuke instantly turned around to see a pair of blood red eyes staring straight at him.

"UAAAAHHH!"

_Smack!_

"Get a hold of yourself! It's just me."

As Sasuke looked carefully, the red eyes changed to blue, and he realized it was Naruto.

"We're done. Let's get back to camp."

Sasuke didn't say a thing. He just followed his former team mate and rubbed his now tender cheek. When they reached the camp, they just stood there, not looking at each other. Then Naruto broke the silence.

"How can you get stronger by following that guy?"

"I did."

"It didn't seem like it. It felt like you got weaker."

"Shut up."

"Are you scared of something?"

"What makes you think that?"

Naruto turned around to reveal the Kyubi's eyes. Sasuke flinched. And it wasn't just a little-eye-twitch flinch. It was a raise-your-hands-to-protect-your-head flinch. Naruto shook his head.

"I thought so. You didn't realize that Orochimaru was one of them? You didn't recognize the killing intent back then?"

Sasuke didn't say anything.

"Well, whatever. That's not important. There's this one question I haven't had the chance to ask yet."

There was a moment's pause.

"Is this what your deceased clan would want you to do?"

That wasn't a question Sasuke had expected. He ran his mouth before he even thought about it for a moment.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"I know that you don't exactly know, but what do you think they would say?"

"…"

Naruto shook his head.

"If you think they would say that what you're doing is right, they must have been assholes."

"What?"

"What kind of a family would want their sons to kill each other? Aren't siblings supposed to help each other out?"

"You expect me to _help _my brother? After what he did?"

"Why fight for revenge? Why not fight to protect?"

"Protect what?"

"The rest of the Uchiha clan, of course."

"I don't see any 'rest of the Uchiha clan'."

"That's because he's standing right in front of me."

Naruto walked right up to Sasuke, and started poking him in the chest.

"Protect what is right here, and bring the Uchiha clan back to life. Don't let revenge destroy what is left."

"But how do I bring it back?"

Naruto winked.

"Well, that's for you to decide."

From behind Sasuke, Sakura got out of her tent. She looked groggy, and a few hairs stuck out here and there. The two boys turned around. Naruto waved and grinned.

"Ohio, Sakura-chan!"

'grunt' She looked up, and noticed that Sasuke was also there. She waited for a moment. Sasuke scratched his face and looked away.

"Morning, Sakura…"

She stared at him for a while, and then walked away. "I'm gonna go wash up over _there_." She pointed slowly, and carefully. It was evidently clear that she didn't want _anyone_ with her. She let the message sink in a bit, then went on her way.

The two boys looked at each other. Then Naruto spoke up.

"Looks like it won't be that easy for you to get yourself on her good side."

A hammer of a fist smacked the blonde's head. Something broke. It wasn't the fist.

Hinata jumped out of the trees and saw Naruto at the campsite. When she got closer, the blond noticed her.

"Oh, Hinata. I'm sorry I had to leave at that moment. This guy here needed some attention. What was it you were going to say?"

_So he didn't hear it… _Hinata thought. "Ah… it's nothing."

"Well, if you say so." He put his hands in his pockets, and looked out at the rising sun.

Hinata noticed that he seemed more mature now. She wondered why. As she kept looking at him, it reminded her of another person, yet she couldn't put her finger on who it was.

"Hinata, is there something wrong?"

He had startled her. "Ah! No, no, there's nothing wrong…" She tried complimenting him. "You seem… a little different from before…"

Naruto laughed. "Well, I'm still me. It's not like I'm really somebody else."

She smiled. "You're right."

* * *

**End of Chapter 16**

* * *


	17. Unfamiliarity

**Naruto: The Ninth Tail: Chapter 17**

**Unfamiliarity**

The rest of the group was ready to return to the Country of Sand. As they packed up, there was something tugging at Sasuke's mind.

"Hey, Naruto…"

"What is it?"

"Where the hell did you hide the scroll? I couldn't find it anywhere."

Naruto grinned. He pulled out of his pack the fake scroll.

"Here it is."

Naruto unrolled the summoning pattern.

"But that's the fake scroll. That's not the-"

Naruto peeled off the pattern to reveal, "The real scroll?"

There was a stunned silence after that. Sasuke didn't believe it. Sakura didn't believe it. Kankuro and Temari didn't believe it. Gaara… well… he just stood there with his usual look on his face.

Kakashi nodded. "As expected of the No. 1 Ninja at surprising people."

Naruto handed the scroll over to Gaara. "Here, this is yours."

Gaara nodded, and took it.

Naruto turned back to Sasuke, grinning. "Now, what was it that you owe me again?"

A drop of sweat formed on his cheek, and he said something inaudible.

"What? I didn't hear you."

"I said I don't have any money…"

Naruto started to grin. "Well, that's okay."

"Eh?" Sasuke was really puzzled. From his experience, he knew the blond really liked money. Everybody else knew that too.

"The satisfaction of knowing that I have more money than the Uchiha here is enough!" He pulled out his frog wallet, which was seemed to be ready to burst at the seams.

A few veins could be seen on Sasuke's forehead. "Why you…"

"Hehehe…"

Kakashi smiled. "We can worry about money problems later. Let's return this scroll back to where it came from."

"Ah…"

Gaara took a few steps, and then suddenly fell to his knees.

"Hey, Gaara!" Kankuro and Temari rushed over to his side. Gaara was clutching at his chest, his breathing irregular and shallow. Gaara looked at the horizon, his eyes clouded and unfocused.

"He's coming…"

"Who?" Temari asked, "Who's coming?"

But he didn't answer, for it was at that moment he chose to faint and collapse.

"Gaara!" Temari continuously shook the unconscious boy, but no amount of shaking pulled him out of his state.

Naruto could only stare as the scene unfolded before him.

"Just what's

"going on…?"

The ground was shaking as a rock-shattering earthquake tore through the cave. Deidara could barely keep his balance. The other members present were also having a difficult time. Just then, their leader appeared before them.

"What's happening?"

Kazuku replied. "Something's wrong with the demon-sealing statue!"

He was right. The hands of the statue were twitching uncontrollably, and one of the pupils of the nine eyes was uncontrollably dilating and constricting.

"This shouldn't be happening."

The leader turned to the other Akatsuki members.

"Did anyone tamper with the statue?"

Everybody shook their heads. The leader reverted his gaze back to the statue. Then, he saw something that he wouldn't have believed if he didn't see it. The pupil dilated so much that the whole eye was completely black. Then, it seemed like something started to move in the shadows of the eye. The Akatsuki thought it was a trick of the light, or lack of.

They thought wrong.

From inside the eyeball, something pushed against the inside, creating a protrusion. The unseen force slowed down, as if the eye was straining to keep the thing from within restrained. Then it ripped, releasing the beast within. The cave exploded with the roaring of wind and an echoing howl could be heard. All the Akatsuki members covered their heads, all except the leader and Itachi. They continuously stood their ground.

The eye of the statue was now burst open, and it looked like it was bleeding from the hole. Black liquid continuously flowed in rivulets down the statue's face. Then, a beige claw with blue markings grabbed the face of the statue, and pulled the rest of the body out. A yellow eye with a star-shaped pupil and four dots revealed itself from the darkness.

The Ichibi Shuukaku was free, and it gave an ear-splitting howl. It pulled the rest of its body out, and its tail whipped back and forth. It gave one look at the members of the Akatsuki, and then shot a concentrated blast of chakra-laced air at them. There were only two members who were actually there at the moment. The rest were all just images.

Nevertheless, the impact was strong enough to completely pulverize the two Akatsuki there.

"Kakuzu! Hidan!"

Shuukaku turned towards the exit, and stomped out of the cave, destroying the seal with an air blast. In the light of the sun, its body slowly dematerialized and floated into the wind. The Akatsuki members couldn't do anything but stare.

"… Sir… What's going on?"

"I don't know, Itachi. I just don't know…"


End file.
